Main description:

Society, Culture and Health takes a sociological approach to issues of relevance for students studying nursing and related health professions. The book examines the sources of ideas about health and illness, including the biomedical model, folk and lay approaches and the influence of the media. It includes coverage of the impact on health of social marginalisation through a careful examination of structural variables. The experiences of health and illness are explained through the analysis of the body in contemporary society and issues such as chronic illness and disability. Society, Culture and Health gives an overview of the role of nursing in the health care system and its relationship with medicine and alternative health practices. Taking a practical approach, and using case studies to examine a range of issues such as domestic violence, occupational health, indigenous health and refugee health, it prepares students for working in health professions which are wide-ranging in settings, systems and clients.

Contents:

1. What is sociology and why is it relevant to nurses?; 2. Approaching health and illness; 3. Lay, folk and consumer ideas about health and illness; 4. The media and health; 5. Health and illness patterns in Australia; 6. The Health Effects of Marginalisation and Exclusion; 7. The Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; 8. The Body, Risk and Lifestyle; 9. The Illness experience: Chronic illness; 10. Contemporary Debates about Health and Illness; 11. Health care systems and the health workforce; 12. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM); 13. Nursing in Contemporary Australia