This textbook helps students in the health sciences prepare for the social foundations portion of the medical college entrance exam. It provides a solid understanding of the fundamental concepts, theories, and methodologies in sociology that the exam requires. This book offers a condensed overview of the sociological concepts covered during a 15 week semester. It helps students gain an understanding of the social foundations of behavior, and the social determinants of health within the professional context of medicine. Students are provided with the necessary basics in addition to case studies, learning and research activities, recommended external resources, and study questions. These are meant to develop pre-health students' understanding of the importance of the social factors that influence health outcomes. The featured activities contain various exercises using examples of sociology of health and medicine, including social factors shaping health, social relations between doctors and patients, and the health care system, among others. As a result, this book well informs not only those who wish to prepare for the medical college entrance exam to pursue a career in the health profession, but also anyone who is interested in social perspectives on health and medicine.

This book provides a comprehensive portrait of the experience of poverty among Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the US. Given that these two groups experience some of the highest rates of poverty of any ethnicity and that it persists even while a majority work and reside in dual parent households, it becomes imperative that we explore a multitude of related factors. This book offers a systematic empirical analysis of these groups in relation to other ethnic groups, explores the individual and contextual factors associated with the determination of poverty via the use of logistic and multi-level models, details the historical context associated with Mexican immigrants, and discusses the major policies that have impacted them. It discusses the newest destinations of Mexican immigrants and also provides a discussion of undocumented migrants. Further, it details the current measure of poverty in the United States and offers a number of alternatives for modeling and measuring it.

This handbook provides a demographic examination of global obesity trends by bringing together the range of research conducted in this field by demographers, sociologists, epidemiologists, and other quantitatively and demographically oriented social scientists. It utilizes a multidisciplinary demographic approach to provide insights into the global prevalence and mechanisms of obesity, as well as the population level impacts of rising obesity. Major sections include: global obesity trends and prevalence; obesity and demographic structures, processes, and characteristics; emerging areas of study; and obesity in LGBAT populations. This handbook provides readers with a broad understanding of population-based research on obesity and serves as a resource for scholars, students, policymakers, and researchers.

This book provides a comprehensive portrait of the experience of poverty among Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in the US. Given that these two groups experience some of the highest rates of poverty of any ethnicity and that it persists even while a majority work and reside in dual parent households, it becomes imperative that we explore a multitude of related factors. This book offers a systematic empirical analysis of these groups in relation to other ethnic groups, explores the individual and contextual factors associated with the determination of poverty via the use of logistic and multi-level models, details the historical context associated with Mexican immigrants, and discusses the major policies that have impacted them. It discusses the newest destinations of Mexican immigrants and also provides a discussion of undocumented migrants. Further, it details the current measure of poverty in the United States and offers a number of alternatives for modeling and measuring it.

This book examines the incidence rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among minority group teenagers in the United States and among adults in the United States and China. The focus is on general trends and patterns in the US compared to those in China. Research questions include whether or not the early onset of sexual activity is directly related to the incidence of STI transmission among Americans. Additionally, analyses of the Chinese population address the question of whether or not a hidden epidemic exists with regard to STI transmission rates. The data analysed offer unique insights as they contain information on sexual behaviour for both populations as well as urine results for the Chinese. Results are presented in descriptive tables and through the use of logistic regression. It is important to study these trends within the U.S. and abroad in China for many reasons. These include lifelong difficulties and complications such as loss of fertility. Furthermore, STI infection amplifies the transmission rate of HIV/AIDS and should be studied specifically for this reason, if none other.