The most comprehensive major academic textbook available on its topic, this classic text presents the most important research studies in the field. The author integrates engaging  first-person  accounts  from  patients,  physicians,  and  other  health  care  providers throughout the text. Since its inception, this book’s principal goal has been to  introduce  students  to  the  field  of  medical  sociology  and  serve  as  a  reference  for  faculty by presenting the most current ideas, issues, concepts, themes, theories, and research  findings  in  the  field.  This 16^th edition  is  heavily  revised,  with  updated  data  and important new additions.
New to this edition:

• Updated chapter on the social causes, impacts, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (Chapter 3)
• Analysis of the widening 10-year gap in average life expectancy in American society between the wealthy and well-educated and the poor and less educated (Chapter 4)
• Expanded discussion of the effects of racism on physical and mental health (Chapter 6)
• Additions to health lifestyle theory of pandemic behavior and the digitalization of society (Chapter 8)
• New developments in doctor-patient interaction, including the use of genomic data and artificial intelligence (AI) technology in medical care (Chapter 10)
• The survival of the Affordable Care Act (Chapter 16)
• Review of key issues in different types of health care delivery systems (Chapter 17)