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PubMed2003

Developments in Scandinavian and American medical sociology.

This paper examines the similarities and differences in Scandinavian and American medical sociology. First, the issue of medicalization has not been as important in Scandinavian as it has been in American medical sociology. Second, women's health has been less explored in Scandinavian than in American medical sociology. Third, research on social inequalities and health has been a major focus in Scandinavian medical sociology since the 1990s. Fourth, cultural sociology and the poststructuralist perspective have been part of mainstream theory building in European sociology and also European and Scandinavian medical sociology during the past decade, while American medical sociology has been characterized by social-role theory and a quantitative approach.

Female↗

PubMed1995

Health, illness, and healing in an uncertain era: challenges from and for medical sociology.

The current situation in health care organizations, among providers and for people, dramatically challenges the "business as usual" roles of medicine, government, insurance companies, the community, and the university. Health care reform marks the first attempt in a century to consider a reconstruction of the social contract between society and medicine. While sociology stands as one of the earliest social sciences to systematically study the health care arena and create a health-focused subfield, there is a perception, not without support, of a desertion of identity from within, an encroachment by other areas from without, and abandonment by the parent discipline. We argue that these situations in medical arenas and in research fields require serious rethinking. The key lies in understanding how these phenomena are related to each other and to larger social forces, and how they offer opportunities, rather than signal limitations, to medical sociologists. We turn to the theoretical tools of sociology to help unravel the complicated challenges that face both policymakers and researchers. After framing these issues in a sociology of knowledge perspective, we use the case of "utilization theory" to illustrate the connections between society and systems of care (as well as studies of them) and to create a future agenda. We end by raising three basic questions: (1) Why is a sociological perspective critical to the understanding of change and reform in health care? (2) Why is medical sociology critical to the survival of the general sociological enterprise? and (3) Why is general sociology critical to the research agenda in medical sociology?

Health Care Reform↗

PubMed1977

Current sociological research in Canada: views of a journal editor.

On the basis of submissions to the Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology and to the Annual Meetings of the Canadian Sociological and Anthropological Association, sociology in Canada may be described as social problem oriented, empirical, and atheoretical. There is a strong interest in research on ethnicity and on immigrant adjustment, reflecting a continuity with earlier periods of sociology in Canada, and on deviance and social control. Research on stratification, social mobility, and the family has been relatively neglected. As sociology in Canada shares the interest of "mainline" sociology, it has not escaped criticism or attempts to change its direction. A general model, identifying influences on the formulation of investigative issues in sociology, is used to interpret these criticisms and responses to them.

Canada↗

PubMed2003

Role of sociology within the nursing enterprise: some reflections on the unfinished debate.

The present paper reviews literature on the relevance of sociology to nursing in the context of arguments presented by Cooke, Sharp and Porter. It explores some of the arguments presented for and against sociology in nursing education. On a broader perspective, sociology inter alia, is at best worthwhile for nurses and is not as positively harmful as Sharp asserts. The discussion draws attention to the relevance of social theory for nursing practice. It is argued that almost all social theories have been widely applied in nursing research. The case for sociology as applied to nursing or nursing sociology versus general sociology for nurses was examined. This paper concludes in favor of the inclusion of sociology as applied to nursing in the nursing curriculum.

Education, Nursing↗

PubMed1996

[Disciplinary organization of medical sociology--a contribution to the dialogue with social medicine].

According to Karl Popper scientific disciplines are characterized by a body of observational knowledge, a specific methodology and terminology and a set of more or less successful theories. This article tries to delineate the disciplinary structure of medical sociology in terms of five important areas of knowledge: 1. sociology of health lifestyles (prevention); 2. sociology of patients careers (rehabilitation); 3. sociology of client-professional interaction (diagnosis, therapy); 4. sociological (social epidemiological) studies of causes of health and disease; 5. sociology of health care systems. It is argued that intensified exchange according to these areas between the academic disciplines of medical sociology and social medicine is needed to generate a significant impact on future training and research both in medicine and in public health.

Curriculum↗

PubMed1995

Sociology and the nursing curriculum: a defence.

This paper is a response to Keith Sharp's (1994) argument in the Journal of Advanced Nursing that sociology cannot in principle provide a knowledge base for nursing work. The aim here is to reassert the appropriateness of including sociology in the nursing curriculum. Three arguments put forward by Sharp are engaged with. First, he questions nursing's need for any theoretical basis at all. This hypothesis is rejected on the grounds that any occupation that is involved in complex decision-making requires some sort of theoretical guidance. Second, Sharp argues that the multi-paradigmatic nature of sociology makes it inappropriate for nurses who require more certain knowledge as a basis for their actions. Two responses to this argument are made: first, that the fissures within sociology are not as great as Sharp portrays them and, second, that nurses possess adequate criteria to be able to judge between different sociological propositions. Sharp's final argument is that the reflexive approach of sociology is an inappropriate way of thinking for nurses, whose approach is instrumental. In reply, it is noted that Sharp's instrumental model of nursing action does not adequately reflect the manner in which nurses interact with patients, and that 'new nursing' practices require reflexivity on the part of the nurse.

Curriculum↗

PubMed2006

British sociology and public intellectuals: consumer society and imperial decline.

The following is the lecture given for the BJS 2005 Public Sociology Debate given at the London School of Economics and Political Science on ll October 2005. This lecture on the character of British sociology provides a pretext for a more general inquiry into public intellectual life in postwar Britain. The argument put forward falls into several distinctive sections. First, British social science has depended heavily on the migration of intellectuals, especially Jewish intellectuals who were refugees from fascism. Second, intellectual innovation requires massive, disruptive, violent change. Third, British sociology did nevertheless give rise to a distinctive tradition of social criticism in which one can argue there were (typically home-grown) public intellectuals. The main theme of their social criticism was to consider the constraining and divisive impact of social class, race and gender on the enjoyment of expanding social citizenship. Fourth, postwar British sociology came to be dominated by the analysis of an affluent consumer society. Finally, the main failure of British sociology in this postwar period was the absence of any sustained, macro-sociological analysis of the historical decline of Britain as a world power in the twentieth century.

Community Participation↗

PubMed2006

Medical sociology and the biological body: where are we now and where do we go from here?

In this article I pose the question, 'where is the biological body in medical sociology today?' The first part of the article provides a selective corporeal balance sheet of where we are now in medical sociology, with particular reference to social constructionist and phenomenological approaches and their respective stances or takes on the (biological) body. The subsequent section considers where we might profitably be going in the future in terms of bringing the biological body (back) in, and the broader issues this raises for the sociological enterprise as a whole. Various problems associated with this evolving project and merits of other recent approaches, such as the sociology of translation, are considered. The article concludes with some further thoughts and reflections on these matters, including a revisiting of relations between the sociology of the body and medical sociology in the light of these debates.

Human Body↗

PubMed1995

Medical sociology and the study of severe mental illness: reflections on past accomplishments and directions for future research.

Over the past 40 years, the mental health care system has been radically transformed from one focused on institutionalized care to one centered on treatment in community settings. While medical sociology has played a prominent role in the study of psychiatric hospitalization and the deinstitutionalization process, the systematic exploration of the sociological dimensions of community-based mental health care is only just beginning. This essay reflects on past disciplinary contributions and explores some important empirical and theoretical directions in the field of mental illness research that could benefit from more extensive sociological analysis. The central argument is that the shift to a community-based mental health system has increased the need for the sociological perspective and that medical sociologists, in particular, have the theoretical and analytical perspective essential for developing a more complete understanding of the current conditions impacting the lives of people with severe mental disorders. Drawing on recent work in medical sociology, we illustrate some important topical areas at the center of controversies over treatment, social change, and public policy regarding severe mental illness. We conclude with a discussion of the barriers to this type of sociological research and suggestions for ways medical sociologists might contribute to the study of severe mental disorders in the future.

Deinstitutionalization↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Criteria for teaching medical sociology in public health area].

A discussion is given on the most important criteria which should guide the selection of medical sociology's contents which should be taught to public health students. It is suggested that in the current national context, the teaching of sociology in public health should be guided by three objectives: a) to train public health specialists capable of analyzing and criticizing their social reality; b) to disseminate the main findings achieved through social research in public health, concerning mainly the social determination of both the health illness process and the provision of health services; and c) to train public health students to face social changes currently taking place in this country which soon will make evident their effects on the distribution of health and illness in the population. The relevance of linking the teaching of medical sociology in public health with actual research is pointed out. The need to carry out sociological research on the actual current conditions in which social sciences in public health are taught in Mexico and Latin America is stated. It is emphasized the importance of including within this teaching the variety of dilemmas and polemics which have resulted as a consequence of the incorporation of sociology into health matters. The article concludes by emphasizing the need to show the multiparadigmal character of sociology and the consequences of this fact in the study of public health.

Curriculum↗

PubMed1998

Paul Lazarsfeld and Polish sociology: a historical record of contact, perception, and impact.

This paper records the Polish aspects of P. F. Lazarsfeld's sociointellectual biography and examines his impact on Polish sociology. The analysis is divided into three chronological parts. In the 1930s, Lazarsfeld's empirical work inspired Polish sociologists in their studies on unemployment. In the late 1950s and 1960s, his model of empirical social research shaped the style of sociological practice in Poland. In the 1990s, some of Lazarsfeld's substantive contributions, mainly in the area of election studies, were taken up in Polish sociology. Lazarsfeld's influence on Polish sociology was conditioned by changes in Polish society and sociology, which is emphasized in this analysis.

History, 20th Century↗

PubMed1993

Why teach sociology?

This paper examines the arguments in favour of the inclusion of sociology in the nursing curriculum. It contains an analysis of the literature on sociology teaching in nursing education and briefly compares this with sociology teaching in the medical curriculum. The discussion draws attention to the ways in which the professional concerns and ambitions of nursing constrain the content and organisation of the sociology curriculum. Finally it argues for a more critical and theoretically informed sociology for nurses.

Curriculum↗

PubMed1985

A health economist on medical sociology: reflections by an unreconstructed reductionist.

Eleven papers in medical sociology, recommended as representative by the Medical Sociology Group of the British Sociology Association, are evaluated by a health economist using five criteria: appeal of intellectual content, insights into political philosophy, explanatory power, predictive power and opportunities for social improvements. The paper concludes that the medical sociology literature is quite weak when judged by these criteria, though stronger on some than others. Sociologists often seem to confuse issues that involve value judgements with ones that do not, and generally seem to display a disconcerting obsession with methodological issues of the most fundamental kind that has inhibited medical sociology from developing interesting analyses of many issues on which, in principle, it ought to have much to offer.

Economics, Medical↗

PubMed1992

Sociology in American medical education since the 1960s: the rhetoric or reform.

Despite recommendations by medical reformers that medical sociology be included in the curriculum, there is currently little evidence of a far-reaching integration of sociological perspectives in American medical education. Yet, support for the relevance of sociological knowledge has since the late 1960s helped to diffuse external pressures for change in health care and medical education. As a symbol of the communitarian commitment of the medical profession, claims in favor of the incorporation of sociological perspectives have thus occasionally, and largely unintentionally, served the public relations interests of biomedicine. However, the more recent interest in medical ethics has to some degree transformed medicine's educational agenda and the definition of medical 'human values'. Whereas the rhetorical expropriation of medical sociology primarily has concerned medicine's responsibility vis-à-vis society as a whole, the new medical ethics education signifies a return to a more individualistically oriented medical morality.

Behavioral Sciences↗

PubMed1993

Social research in health and the American sociopolitical context: the changing fortunes of medical sociology.

The fortunes of medical sociology, like other public policy-relevant disciplines, are shaped by political dynamics and prevailing values and attitudes. In the 1980s the field, which views disease and disability as consequences to a substantial degree of material conditions, social stratification, and inequalities among varying strata, lost ground to economics as societal attention focused on cost containment issues. Sociological concern with social structures clashed with dominant conservative and individualistic perspectives and the increased focus on personal responsibility and market strategies. There was decreasing tolerance in policy circles for the view that health, and the problems affecting disenfranchised groups such as the poor, the homeless, the uninsured and people with disabilities, were more due to our politics and social arrangements than the personal characteristics of those affected. Thus, little attention has been given in public health discourse to how life imperatives and social opportunities and constraints shape behavior. The paper documents the important role of the social sciences in health services research with special attention to examining the social context of the RAND Health Insurance Experiment. Although many of the questions medical sociology address sit on the periphery of policy-makers' concerns, a strong case is made for the revitalization of a critical scholarly role in medical sociology. I conclude, given the short and longterm problems we face in medicine and health, that we would have to invent a vigorous critical medical sociological enterprise if we did not already have one.

Forecasting↗

PubMed2003

The use of quantitative medical sociology.

The present article reviews, in relation to quantitative work on the social structure, papers published in Sociology of Health and Illness during its first 25 years. Each issue published during the years 1979-2002 has been examined; and quantitative papers, relating to various aspects of the social structure, have been identified. Such papers are found to have formed a minor but substantively significant theme within the Journal. These contributions situate the journal between sociology and social epidemiology. Articles in the Journal, for example, have been part of sociological debates about the measurement of social class, and of social epidemiological debates about the relationship between income distribution and population health. The contribution of Sociology of Health and Illness to a number of such debates is reviewed. The article concludes that the present situation, in particular the intellectual crisis in social epidemiology and social science investment in large data sets, gives the Journal the chance to build on this distinguished tradition by encouraging, through its publication policy, the further development of quantitative medical sociology.

Bibliometrics↗

PubMed1989

Sociology in the British medical curriculum: a survey.

A survey conducted among convenors of sociology courses in British medical schools showed a wide variation in course length, with two medical schools having no course, and two schools providing over 60 hours per year. A mean length of 32 hours was found, but there was considerable variation by region. London schools had a mean of 38.5 hours, compared with 40.5 hours in Scotland, and 22.3 hours in English provincial and Welsh schools. The latter group demonstrated a strong correlation between length of time the course had existed and the hours of tuition provided (r = 0.74, P = 0.007). No correlation was found at a significant level for London or Scottish courses. It is concluded that the London University edict making sociology compulsory in the medical curriculum has ensured a reasonable level of provision. Outside London, no such pressure has been available, and sociology has been squeezed as more subjects vie for curriculum time. Attitudes of non-sociology staff are reviewed and found to be predominantly negative. The recent report of the General Medical Council is noted, and it is suggested that the need for such a lobbyist outside London is necessary to ensure sociology attains a more secure and substantial place in the medical curriculum.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1991

The place of sociology in a drug education curriculum.

This article gives consideration to the part a sociological perspective can play in a drug education curriculum. Sociology's study of human behavior from the context of various social groupings is considered appropriate to any understanding of drugs and drug use, as are a number of substantive areas common to the discipline. The sociological perspective is examined from the broad foci of structure and process, and with each focus examples of a sociological approach to drug use is offered. The common concerns of these approaches, as well as their points of divergence, are discussed. A sample outline of a course in "Drugs and Society" is also presented, suggesting the ways in which the sociological issues discussed could provide an orientation to the study of drug use in a social context.

Curriculum↗