Complementary therapeutics have proliferated in much of the Western world since the 1970s. This book treats "alternative" therapies both as a spearhead and as a reflection of widespread changes in attitudes—and of resistance to such changes, which has not infrequently been crammed with blasts against "quacks". Indeed, it was commonly insisted that these "illiterate fungi" were more prevalent than ever; and there were repeated calls for legislative intervention to put down the "hydra" amids...

Why has breastfeeding re-asserted itself over the last twenty years, and why are the government, the scientific and medical communities, and so many mothers so invested in the idea? In Is Breast Best? Joan B. Wolf challenges the widespread belief that breastfeeding is medically superior to bottle-feeding. Despite the fact that breastfeeding has become the ultimate expression of maternal dedication, Wolf writes, the conviction that breastfeeding provides babies unique health benefits and th...

**Shortlisted for the BSA Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2010**What is good care? In this innovative and compelling book, Annemarie Mol argues that good care has little to do with 'patient choice' and, therefore, creating more opportunities for patient choice will not improve health care.Although it is possible to treat people who seek professional help as customers or citizens, Mol argues that this undermines ways of thinking and acting crucial to health care. ...

Sociology is a key topic for all trainee health professionals, but many struggle to see what sociology has to offer. Based on years of experience teaching sociology to healthcare students, Lani Russell has written a truly introductory text which explains the main sociological concepts without jargon or becoming too advanced. Using carefully chosen examples, she shows how health issues are influenced by social phenomena such as class, race or sexuality and the relevance this has for practit...

The scientists, academics and practitioners writing this book are not 'against' complementary or alternative medicine (CAM), but they are very much 'for' evidence-based medicine and single standards. They aim to counter-balance the many uncritical books on CAM and to stimulate intelligent, well-informed public debate.TOPICS INCLUDE: What is CAM? Why is it so popular? Patient choice; Reclaiming compassion; Teaching CAM at university; Research on CAM; CAM in court; Ethics and CAM; Politics a...

With the world's population getting increasingly older, there has never been a more pressing need for the study of old age and ageing. An Introduction to Gerontology provides a wide-ranging introduction to this important topic. By assuming no prior expert knowledge and avoiding jargon, this book will guide students through all the main subjects in gerontology, covering both traditional areas, such as biological and social ageing, and more contemporary areas, such as technology, the arts an...

Culture, Health and Illness: An Introduction for Health Professionals, Second edition discusses the fundamentals of medical anthropology. The book is comprised of 12 chapters that present both the theoretical framework and case histories relevant to the topic. The coverage of the text includes the relationship of culture to various health related concepts, such as pain, pharmacology, stress, and epidemiology. The book also discusses the doctor-patient relation, the various sectors of healt...

This book fills a gap for an introductory text that offers broad coverage of the sociological issues that are relevant to health students coming to the theoretical and experiential aspects of health and illness for the first time.

Biopolitics and the ‘Obesity Epidemic’ is the first edited collection of critical perspectives on the 'obesity epidemic.' The volume provides a comprehensive discussion of current issues in the critical analysis of health, obesity and society, and the impact of obesity discourses on different individuals, social groups and institutions. Contributors from the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia provide original, accessible, and engaging chapters on issues such as the effects on i...

Navigates the divergent cultural meanings of health, and its entanglement with morality in current political discourseYou see someone smoking a cigarette and say,“Smoking is bad for your health,” when what you mean is, “You are a bad person because you smoke.” You encounter someone whose body size you deem excessive, and say, “Obesity is bad for your health,” when what you mean is, “You are lazy, unsightly, or weak of will.” You see a woman bottle-feeding an infant...

In Western societies, 'lifestyle' as an explanation for health and illness has become increasingly popular.Lifestyle in Medicine explores the ambiguity of the term 'lifestyle' and the way it is conceived and applied within medicine. Based on real doctor-patient consultations and in-depth interviews with doctors, the book discusses:the history behind current medical use of lifestylethe variable usage of the 'lifestyle' concept in different medical se...

Why Men Don’t Iron is an eye-opening, mind-blowing book on how the major sex differences in our brains impact on our daily lives and behaviour.Men are not women and yet for the last decade have been told to get in touch with the feminine side of their nature. Men have in fact been told to connect to parts of their brain that do not exist. So what are the essential, unique qualities of men?In a time when the debate on the ‘feminisation of education’ and the nanny state, ‘the...