Social Science in Medicine

Although the medical profession has never been unmindful of the relationship of social environment to illness, until relatively recently the related disciplines of sociology, social psychology, and social anthropology have been inadequately harnessed for purposes of medical research and practice. That these disciplines have now advanced to a point where fruitful collaboration between medical and social scientists is feasible is made evident by this book, which is itself the product of collaboration between a sociologist and a physician. The authors view the individual as an organism in his physical surroundings, as a group member in his society, and as a person in his culture and relate the impact of these surroundings to health and disease. They offer a framework for collaboration between medical and social science by clarifying social science concepts that have a bearing on medical practice and stress the need for research in the two fields. This book