{"product_id":"health-9780745648453","title":"Health","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe second edition of Mildred Blaxter''s successful and highly respected book offers a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the key debates surrounding the concept of health today. It discusses how health is defined, constructed, experienced and acted out in contemporary developed societies, drawing on a range of empirical data from the USA, Britain, France, and many other countries.  \u003cp\u003eThe new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with new material added on health and identity, the new genetics, the sociology of the body, and the formation of health capital throughout the life course. The topic is the concept of health, rather than the more usual emphasis on illness and health-care systems. Special emphasis is given to the lay perspective to show how people themselves think about and experience health. Blaxter guides students through all the relevant conceptual models of the relationship of health to the structure of society, from inequality in health to the ideas of\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A great text: revised and updated for students of health, whatever their discipline or background. Changes in science, technology and our understanding of the body are among the many important topics covered. Mildred Blaxter writes in a lucid style and has a command of her material that is second to none. Highly recommended.\" \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eMike Bury, \u003ci\u003eRoyal Holloway, University of London\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Updated and with new material, this book provides a fascinating insight into the phenomenon of health and how it is defined, constructed, expressed and experienced. Written in a clear and engaging style, it is an indispensable resource for students and researchers in the health and social sciences.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eEllen Annandale, \u003ci\u003eUniversity of Leicester\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"This fine book takes sociological perspectives of health as a point of departure, while at the same time increasing our understanding of illness. Students and professionals alike will benefit from Blaxter's clear and succinct presentation.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003ePeter Conrad, \u003ci\u003eBrandeis University\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction.  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. How is health defined?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth as the absence of illness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDisease as deviance.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth as balance or homeostasis.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth as function.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth as state or status.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe biomedical model.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eContemporary biomedicine.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe social model.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth, disease, illness and sickness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow is health measured?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth capital.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. How is health constructed?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth as social construction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructions of history.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructions of culture.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructivism and feminism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIllness, labelling and stigma.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructions of mental illness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstructions of disability.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe critique of relativism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedicalisation and the constructions of medical practice.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. How is health embodied and experienced?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmbodiment.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLay definitions of health.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial representations of health.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-rated health.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConcepts of the causes of health and illness.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth histories and subjective health capital.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIllness narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLimitations of narrative.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe search for meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth as moral discourse and metaphor.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResponsibility for health.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. How is health enacted?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe rise and fall of 'illness behaviour'.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerson to patient: help-seeking behaviour.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe patient role.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eControl and concordance.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEnacted behaviour.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBehaving 'healthily'.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStructure\/agency: health as cultural consumption.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStructure\/agency: health as self-governance.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5. How is health related to social systems?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA functional relationship.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResponses to functionalism.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedicine and society.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth, economic development and social organization.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe downside of economic development.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe concept of inequality in health.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe nature and extent of inequalities.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe causes of inequality.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe socio-biologic translation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNeo-materialistic explanations.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial capital.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6. Contemporary change in the meaning of health.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTechnology and postmodernity.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChanging boundaries between ill and not-ill.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChanging boundaries of life and death.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChanging boundaries between self and not-self.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChanging boundaries between therapy and enhancement.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInformation technologies and medical practice.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChanging attitudes to health and medicine.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNew technologies and the risk society.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvolutionary medicine.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49404392964439,"sku":"9780745648453","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780745648453.jpg?v=1730486324","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/health-9780745648453","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}