With thorough coverage of inequality in health care access and practice, this leading textbook has been widely acclaimed by teachers as the most accessible of any available. It introduces and integrates recent research in medical sociology and emphasizes the importance of race, class, gender, and sexuality throughout.
This new edition leads students through the complexities of the evolving Affordable Care Act. It significantly expands coverage of medical technology, end-of-life issues, and alternative and complementary health care―topics that students typically debate in the classroom. While the COVID-19 pandemic emerged after this edition of the text was originally submitted, material has been added in Chapters 3, 10, and 13 about it. Many new text boxes and enhancements in pedagogy grace this new edition, which is essential in the fast-changing area of health care.
New to this edition:
- More text boxes relating the social aspects of medicine to students’ lives.
- Expanded coverage leading students through the complex impacts of the ACA and health care reform.
- Greater emphasis on sexual minority health and LGBTQ+ persons’ experiences in the health care system.
- Expanded coverage of medical technology, end-of-life issues, and alternative and complementary health care.
- "Health and the Internet" sections are updated and renovated to create more interactive student assignments.
- New end-of-chapter lists of terms, with key terms as flash cards on the companion website.
- An updated instructor’s guide with test bank.
Gregory L. Weiss earned his PhD from Purdue University and is now Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Roanoke College. During his career, he has been an honored teacher (winning numerous college, statewide, regional (SSS), and national (ASA’s Section on Teaching and Learning)) awards, a dedicated researcher and writer (author of Grass Roots Medicine and co-author of Experiencing Social Research and the ASA publication on Creating an Effective Sociology Assessment Program as well as dozens of scholarly articles), and active in the community in a variety of health- and animal-related organizations.
Denise A. Copelton, PhD, is Associate Professor of Sociology at The State University of New York (SUNY), College at Brockport. One of the first social scientists to study celiac disease and gluten-free eating, her work has been published in Social Science & Medicine, Sociology of Health & Illness, Advances in Gender Research, and Deviant Behavior, among others outlets. She is co-author (with Amy Guptill and Betsy Lucal) of Food & Society: Principles and Paradoxes, now in its second edition. She regularly teaches courses on introductory sociology, sociology of health and illness, sociology of families, and deviance. Her college-wide leadership was recognized in 2019 with the prestigious SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Faculty Service.
