Book Reviews
Key Concepts in Medical Sociology
Jonathan Gabe, Mike Bury and Mary Ann Elston (eds)
ISBN: 0-761974-42-3 2004 256 PB pages London: Sage
Margaret Alston
Social Work and Human Services; Centre for Rural Social Research, Institute of Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga NSW
Maria Zadoroznyj
Department of Sociology, Flinders University of South Australia, SA
This book joins several others in the Sage 'Key Concepts' series. Currently this includes Key Concepts in Social Research and Key Concepts in Gender Studies and will also include contributions in areas such as social theory and leisure studies. The idea behind this series is to provide 'students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines'. In the field of the sociology of health and illness (or medical sociology), a book of 'key concepts' is, as the editors of this volume note: 'a somewhat different and unusual form' (p.ix). It is neither a textbook nor a dictionary but rather an attempt to provide 'highly focused essays on particular topics'.
In this book, 50 key concepts are elaborated by 23 contributors, and a significant credit to the editors and the contributors is the high level of consistency maintained in the form of the contributions. All provide historical background, an account of the concept's development as well as reflections on the current and future significance of the concept. Where relevant, empirical illustrations and evidence are cited. All entries are thoroughly cross-referenced, which certainly enhances the potential usefulness of the book, especially for students or novices to the field.
The concepts are organised under five themes in separate sections of the book. The first, 'Social Patterning of Health', contains 11 entries which fall within a fairly standard range of factors associated with health status. Here are summarised empirical descriptions and evidence of associations between, for example, gender, life events, and place. Part 2, 'Experience of Illness', contains 13 entries which encompass an historically inclusive range of theoretical and analytic approaches to the sociology of health and illness from North American and European perspectives. We see authoritative exegeses of 'classic' concepts such as the sick role and medicalisation, as well as more contemporary concerns such as those regarding risk and embodiment. The third part, under the overall heading of 'Health, Knowledge and Practice' contains seven somewhat loosely connected topics. Different paradigms of knowledge regarding health are discussed in the entries on the medical model, social constructionism and lay knowledge. In addition this section contains entries on concepts ranging from geneticisation to surveillance and health promotion. The health workforce and the division of labour is the theme of the fourth part of the book, which contains eight entries that together provide a thorough and comprehensive review of important concepts in this area. Again, the classic concerns of medical sociology such as professional socialization and medical dominance are covered, as well as more recent material concerned with emotional labour and informal care. Health care organisation and policy are covered in the fifth and final section. Some of the eleven contributions in this section are particularly focussed on health care organisation in Britain, thus to some extent limiting its utility for a wider audience.
Overall, the book will undoubtedly meet the stipulated aim of providing students with 'accessible and authoritative knowledge'. However, the entries are generally too succinct to be particularly useful to novice or near novice students, even with the excellent cross-referencing provided. These concerns about target audience notwithstanding, there is no doubt the editors and contributors have produced an extremely worthwhile reference tool which may have wider utility.
The book has a number of strengths. One, already noted, is the consistency in form. Another is the authoritativeness of the contributions, all of which provide sound, clearly written and concise summaries of concepts important to the sociological analysis of health and illness. Finally is the uniformly high quality of the contributions. This volume provides a notable exception to the general unevenness in the strength of chapters in edited collections. Despite the large number of contributors, the quality of the entries is remarkably consistent throughout: both editors and contributors should be congratulated on their achievements in these areas, and on the production of a useful reference tool.
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