Introduction

Originally published in 1977, Health Care and Health Knowledge presents some of the best new work being done in the field of medical sociology. Developments in the field have been prompted by both intellectual and social stimuli, and this book addresses the issue of medicine as an element in the maintenance of social order.

Key Themes

The book studies how in the social context of medicine, health care is now a substantial element of most countries' gross national product, and states that given this, there are inevitably strong pressures for state interest and state intervention to regulate the allocation of national resources to secure the maximum social and economic returns. This has drawn the sociologist into studying medicine both as an institution and as a critical factor in the development of social policy.