Human suffering and illness as well as health and healing are topics of ongoing actuality. In a world of growing complexity and interrelatedness a broader perspective on these topics is needed. The global conference project on “Making Sense of: Health, Illness and Disease” is a forum for scholars from various countries who are interested in deepening the interdisciplinary discourse on the subject. This book is the outcome of the 5th conference held at Mansfield College, Oxford, in July 2006. It combines essays that transgress traditional disciplinary boundaries in the field of health care delivery and medicine. It thus will be of interest to students in the medical humanities, researchers as well as health care providers who wish to gain insight into the various perspectives through which health, illness and disease can be understood.

The study of health care brings one into contact with many disciplines and perspectives, including those of the provider and the patient. There are also multiple academic lenses through which one can view health, illness and disease. This book brings together scholars from around the world who are interested in developing new conversations intended to situate health in broader social and cultural contexts. This book is the outcome of the second global conference on “Making Sense of: Health, Illness and Disease,” held at St Hilda's College, Oxford, in July 2003. The selected papers pursue a range of topics and incorporate perspectives from the humanities, social sciences and clinical sciences. This volume will be of interest to researchers and health care practitioners who wish to gain insight into other ways of understanding health, illness and disease.

Both health care practitioners and health planners are beginning to recognize the importance of differences between lay and professional concepts of health and illness. The editors of this volume, having themselves worked in this field for many years, have selected and brought together writings by distinguished scholars from Britain, France, the United States, Germany and Poland. What impresses most is the range of problems synthesized from a genuinely international and interdisciplinary perspective. No reader can fail to be fascinated by the often peculiar ways in which different societies have tried to cope with the existential questions of health and illness.

Health and illness underpin our everyday existence. Health allows us to live full lives and to function as social beings; illness disrupts our lives, sometimes seriously. But health not only affects individuals, it also impacts upon society as a whole. Medical breakthroughs and scandals, health scares and health service problems all vie for the attention of politicians and public alike. Michael Bury provides a lively introduction to the sociology of health and illness for students approaching the topic for the first time. Drawing on classic writings and up-to-date research, he discusses the conceptualization and patterning of health and illness in contemporary society. He highlights a range of factors, such as gender, age, ethnicity and class, which influence the occurrence and distribution of illness over time. The book then focuses on debates about the body, the role of health services and the politics of health policy. In conclusion, Bury argues that we must take a dynamic view of health and illness as processes that are shaped by social circumstances and altering perceptions. This short introduction will be essential reading for all students studying the sociology of health as part of their degree programme.

Health and illness are intensely personal matters. It seems self evident that health is a basic necessity of the 'good life', though it is often taken for granted. Illness, on the other hand challenges our sense of security and may introduce acute anxiety into our lives. Health and Illness in a Changing Society provides a lively and critical account of the impact of social change on the experience of health and illness. It also examines the different sociological perspectives that have been used to analyse health matters. While some of the ideas developed in the last twenty years remain relevant to social research in health today, many are in need of urgent revision.

Numerous important issues arise in relation to the health of, and healthcare for (and by), migrants. Much commentary on the migrant crisis and healthcare has focused on the allocation of resources, with less discussion of the needs of, and provision for, migrants. Presenting a comparative perspective on the UK and Germany, this volume increases knowledge of a broad spectrum of challenges in healthcare provision for migrants. ‘Migration’ is deliberately understood in its broadest sense and includes not only migrant patients but also migrant healthcare professionals. The book’s content is diverse, with insights from healthcare ethics, healthcare law, along with clinical perspectives as well as perspectives from the social sciences. The collection provides normative reflections on current issues, and presents data from empirical studies. By informing researchers, politicians and healthcare practitioners about approaches to challenges arising in healthcare provision for migrants, the collection seeks to inform the development of adequate and ethically appropriate strategies.

The Sociology of Medical Screening: Critical Perspectives, New Directions presents a series of readings that provide an up-to-date overview of the diverse sociological issues relating to population-based medical screening. Features new research data in most of the contributions Includes contributions from eminent sociologists such as David Armstrong, Stefan Timmermans, and Alison Pilnick Represents one of the only collections to specifically address the sociology of medical screening