Health service policy and health policy have changed considerably over the past fifteen years and there is a pressing need for an up-to-date sociological analysis of health policy. Not only have policies themselves changed but new policy themes ? such as evidence-based policy and practice, an increasing focus on a primary care led health service, a growing recognition of the need to address inequalities through public health policies and a focus on the views and the voice of the user and the public? have emerged alongside some of the old.

Following up the very successful The Sociology of the Health Service, this all-new volume covers a broad range of key contemporary health services issues. It includes chapters on consumerism, technology, evidence-based practice, public health, managerialism and social care among others, and incorporates references to new developments, such as regulation and incentivization, throughout.

The New Sociology of the Health Service provides a vital new sociological framework for analyzing health policy and healthcare. It is an important read for all students and researchers of medical sociology and health policy.

Health service policy and health policy have changed considerably over the past fifteen years and there is a pressing need for an up-to-date sociological analysis of health policy. Not only have policies themselves changed but new policy themes - such as evidence-based policy and practice, an increasing focus on a primary care led health service, a growing recognition of the need to address inequalities through public health policies and a focus on the views and the voice of the user and the public- have emerged alongside some of the old. Following up the very successful The Sociology of the Health Service, this all-new volume covers a broad range of key contemporary health services issues. It includes chapters on consumerism, technology, evidence-based practice, public health, managerialism and social care among others, and incorporates references to new developments, such as regulation and incentivization, throughout. The New Sociology of the Health Service provides a vital new sociological framework for analyzing health policy and healthcare. It is an important read for all students and researchers of medical sociology and health policy.

Taking as its point of departure recent developments in health and social theory Health, Medicine and Society brings together a range of eminent, international scholars to reflect upon key issues at the turn of the century.
Contributors draw upon a range of contemporary theories, both modernist and postmodernist, to look at the following themes:
*health and social structure
*the contested nature of the body
*the salience of consumption and risk
*the challenge of emotions
Health, Medicine and Society provides a 'state-of-the-art' assessment of health related issues at the millennium and a cogent set of arguments for the centrality of health to contemporary social theory. Written in a clear, accessible style it will be ideal reading for students and researchers in health studies, public health, medical sociology, medicine and nursing.

Full Contributors:
Ellen Annandale, University of Leicester, UK, Mildred Blaxter, University of East Anglia, UK, Michael Bury, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, Helen Busby, Salford University, UK, Michael Calnan, University of Kent, UK, Simon Carter, University of Glasgow, UK, Judith Clark, University of Warwick, UK, Robert Crawford, University of Washington, Tacoma, USA, Nick Crossley, University of Sheffield, UK, Nick Fox, University of Sheffield, UK, Jonathan Gabe, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, Graham Hart, University of Glasgow, UK, Deborah Lupton, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia, Emily Martin, Princeton University, USA, Virginia Olesen, University of California, San Francisco, USA, Lindsay Prior, University of Wales, UK, Alan Prout, University of Hull, UK, Chris Smaje, University of Surrey, UK, Deborah Lynn Steinberg, University of Warwick and the Open University, UK, Gareth Williams, University of Salford, UK, Simon J. Williams, University of Warwick, UK

The Sociology of the Health Service responds directly to the need to develop a sociological analysis of current health policy. Topics covered vary from privatisation and health service management to health education and the politics of professional power. Also included is an histroical review of sociology's contributions to health policy and proposals for an agenda for sociological health policy research in the 1990s.

Do lay people view modern medicine as a fountain of hope or a font of despair? What are their experiences of modern medical care and technology, and how do their views and experiences differ across different social groups? Combining theoretical insights with a range of qualitative and ethnographic research, this volume examines lay experiences and evaluation of medicines and drugs, chronic illness and life-saving technology, and reproductive technologies. It also considers the growing popularity of complementary therapies as a potential challenge to orthodox medicine.

Do lay people view modern medicine as a fountain of hope or a font of despair? What are their experiences of modern medical care and technology, and how do their views and experiences differ across different social groups? Combining theoretical insights with a range of qualitative and ethnographic research, this volume examines lay experiences and evaluation of medicines and drugs, chronic illness and life-saving technology, and reproductive technologies. It also considers the growing popularity of complementary therapies as a potential challenge to orthodox medicine.

The Sociology of the Health Service responds directly to the need to develop a sociological analysis of current health policy. Topics covered vary from privatisation and health service management to health education and the politics of professional power. Also included is an histroical review of sociology's contributions to health policy and proposals for an agenda for sociological health policy research in the 1990s.

Providing a sociological analysis of the policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, this study places particular analytical emphasis on the interplay between powerful structural interests and the influence on the development of COVID-19 policy. Considering a range of actors, (including the government, scientific experts and the medical profession, the media, and the public) and the nature of their relationships with one another, the authors identify the key sociological aspects that have shaped, facilitated, challenged, or constrained COVID-19 policy in England. Drawing on published documentary material, the authors first examine government attempts to contain, delay, mitigate and suppress the spread of the coronavirus with non-pharmaceutical interventions in the absence of a vaccine (during the first wave) and then whilst vaccines were being gradually rolled out (during the second wave and third waves). The focus then shifts on to vaccination policy and the actors central in the design and implementation of the vaccination programme in England. The approach taken to the funding, development, and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines is also explored and furthermore considers vaccine coverage, vaccine passports, and vaccine nationalism. The authors conclude with a discussion of the overall impact of COVID-19 policy on health and between socio-economic groups and with reflections on the sociologies of pandemics and COVID-19. This book will appeal and be accessible both to policymakers and health service managers and to those studying for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the social, medical, and public health sciences.

"This is a very comprehensive book on the subject matter with references that users can access and follow through. It is well structured and the writing style is appropriate for a wide range of students."

Mo Nowrung, University of East Anglia, UK

We are facing an epidemic of work stress. But why should problems at work which previously led to industrial disputes and political activity now be experienced as a cause of physical or mental illness? This book combines a critique of the scientific evidence relating to work stress, with an account of the social, historical and cultural changes that produced this phenomenon. The analysis is grounded in workers' accounts of their experiences of work stress, derived from the authors' qualitative research. Sociological theories of embodiment, emotions and medicalization are employed to explore the role of subjectivity in mediating the relationship between work and ill health.
This book concludes with an exploration of the consequences of adopting the passive identity of 'work stress victim', and the extent to which individuals resist the medicalization of their problems. It will be of interest to a range of students and researchers in the social sciences, particularly those with an interest in medical sociology, sociology of work, management studies and industrial relations.

Trust is fundamental to everyday interactions and the functioning of society. How trust develops, or fails to develop, within contexts of severe mental illness is a pertinent topic for social scientists and healthcare professionals, not simply because it is an under-researched area but because heightened uncertainty and amplified vulnerability amidst psychosis represent a crucible of the conditions where trust becomes relevant. Grounded in research within this crucible, this book explores a number of questions which are central to contemporary theoretical debates around the nature of trust. The authors link these abstract concerns to empirical analysis, involving interviews with service-users, practitioners and managers. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the concept of trust, including social science researchers and students, as well as practitioners, managers and policy makers working with vulnerable people.

In the context of substantial changes in health service policy and public health policy in England over the last two decades, Health Policy, Power and Politics fills an important gap by providing an up-to-date and accessible account of recent trends in health policies and a sociological analysis of why these policies have taken the shape they have. This book provides a theoretically informed analysis of key recent policy changes in England and how the interplay of powerful structural interests has influenced policy in health. It includes chapters on recent reforms in the NHS and the drift towards privatisation, policies aimed at enhancing public and patient involvement, the regulation of the drug industry, medicalisation and mental health policy, the role and effect of the media and recent changes in social and environmental health policy. The analysis examines the influence of the State, professional medicine, the media, commercial interests such as those of the pharmaceutical, food and fossil fuel industries, patient's groups and the wider global environment. While the key focus of the book is on England, the analysis drawn on by the author comes from a plethora of policy examples in health systems in high and low to middle income countries across the world. This widened context shines a light on the influence of globalisation and highlights both the distinctive character of health policy in England, as well as the common themes it shares in a world-wide context.