Contemporary health studies : an introduction / Louise Warwick-Booth, Ruth Cross and Diane Lowcock.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Contemporary Health Studies: An Introduction provides a lively and accessible introduction to the current issues and key debates in this area. It contains a strong, up-to-date, global, social-scientific focus examining the human experience of health particularly emphasizing its social, political and environmental dimensions.

The book's diverse content is usefully divided into three main parts. Part one sets the scene looking closely at the definition of health studies and the debates surrounding the concept of health. Part two explores different disciplines underpinning Health Studies including chapters such as sociology, psychology, anthropology and health promotion. Part three of the book explores the determinants of health and contains chapters on individual factors influencing health, policy influences on health, public health and the global context of health. Each chapter:

Opens with a list of key learning outcomes;
Contains topical learning tasks;
Poses questions for reflection and debate;
Provides an in-depth case study to summarise the key arguments made.
Carefully chosen tables, figures and photographs bring the text to life, whilst the companion web-site offers additional learning resources for both students and lecturers alike.

Contemporary Health Studies: An Introduction is an essential guide for undergraduate health students written by three authors who have a wealth of teaching experience in this subject area. Their book will inspire readers to consider the human experience of health within contemporary global society as it is mediated by individual, societal and global contexts.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 1)
• Part I Understanding and Promoting Health (p. 5)
• 1 What is Health? (p. 7)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 7)
• Overview (p. 7)
• Definitions of health (p. 7)
• Theoretical perspectives (p. 12)
• The medical model (p. 13)
• The social model (p. 14)
• The holistic model (p. 16)
• The biopsychosocial model (p. 16)
• Different perspectives (p. 17)
• Social construction (p. 17)
• A moral phenomenon (p. 17)
• Lay perspectives (p. 18)
• Understandings according to culture (p. 20)
• Understandings across the lifespan (p. 22)
• Why is this important for understanding health? (p. 25)
• Summary (p. 27)
• Questions (p. 28)
• Further reading (p. 28)
• 2 Contemporary Threats to Health (p. 29)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 29)
• Overview (p. 29)
• Conceptualizing the identifying of threats (p. 30)
• Nature and determinants of health (p. 30)
• Magnitude and severity (p. 33)
• Media construction and moral panics (p. 33)
• Communicable and non-communicable diseases (p. 35)
• Contemporary threats (p. 40)
• Why and how is all this important? (p. 48)
• Summary (p. 50)
• Questions (p. 50)
• Further reading (p. 50)
• 3 Investigating Health (p. 52)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 52)
• Overview (p. 52)
• What is research? (p. 53)
• Philosophical frameworks (p. 54)
• Research question/s (p. 55)
• Quantitative research (p. 58)
• Nature of quantitative research (p. 58)
• Quantitative methods (p. 58)
• Quantitative sampling (p. 59)
• Steps in quantitative sampling (p. 59)
• Quantitative analysis (p. 64)
• Qualitative research (p. 67)
• Nature of qualitative research (p. 67)
• Qualitative methods (p. 69)
• Qualitative sampling (p. 69)
• Qualitative analysis (p. 74)
• Differences between quantitative and qualitative research (p. 75)
• Ethics of research (p. 77)
• Evidence-based practice (p. 78)
• Finding evidence (p. 79)
• Appraising evidence (p. 79)
• Applying evidence to practice (p. 80)
• Why is understanding research important? (p. 83)
• Summary (p. 83)
• Questions (p. 83)
• Further reading (p. 84)
• Part II Disciplinary Context (p. 85)
• 4 Sociology and Health (p. 87)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 87)
• Overview (p. 87)
• What is sociology? (p. 87)
• Sociology of health and illness (p. 89)
• Functionalist theory (p. 90)
• Symbolic interactionism (p. 91)
• Marxist theory (p. 94)
• Feminist theory (p. 96)
• Social constructionism (p. 96)
• Post structuralism (p. 98)
• Society as a determinant of health (p. 99)
• Sociological critique of health promotion (p. 104)
• Why is this important for understanding health? (p. 105)
• Summary (p. 107)
• Questions (p. 107)
• Further reading (p. 107)
• 5 Social Anthropology and Health (p. 109)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 109)
• Overview (p. 109)
• What is social anthropology? (p. 109)
• Culture and health (p. 110)
• Experiencing illness (p. 115)
• Culture and treatment (p. 117)
• Cultural representations (p. 120)
• Culture and mental illness (p. 122)
• Cultural influences upon health (p. 124)
• Why is this important to health studies? (p. 126)
• Summary (p. 128)
• Questions (p. 128)
• Further reading (p. 128)
• 6 Health Psychology (p. 130)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 130)
• Overview (p. 130)
• What is health psychology? (p. 131)
• Health behaviour (p. 132)
• Different kinds of behaviour (p. 134)
• Determinants of behaviour (p. 135)
• Self efficacy (p. 136)
• Beliefs about control (p. 136)
• The Health Belief Model (p. 137)
• Research and the Health Belief Model (p. 139)
• The Theory of Planned Behaviour (p. 139)
• Research and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (p. 140)
• Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) (p. 140)
• The Stages of Change Model (p. 142)
• Critiques of theory (p. 143)
• Health Action Model (p. 144)
• How is health psychology important? (p. 146)
• Critical perspectives (p. 148)
• Summary (p. 148)
• Questions (p. 148)
• Further reading (p. 148)
• 7 Health Promotion (p. 150)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 150)
• Overview (p. 150)
• What is health promotion? (p. 151)
• Origins of health promotion (p. 152)
• Tools for understanding health promotion (p. 154)
• Tannahill's (1985) model (p. 154)
• Beattie's (1991) model (p. 155)
• Naidoo and Wills' (2000) typology (p. 158)
• Tones and Tilford's (1994) empowerment model (p. 160)
• Caplan and Holland's (1990) four perspectives (p. 162)
• Principles and values (p. 164)
• Focus on upstream approaches (p. 165)
• Non- victim blaming approaches (p. 165)
• Evidence base (p. 166)
• Participation and empowerment (p. 166)
• Equity (p. 167)
• Ethical practice (p. 167)
• Focus on salutogentic models (p. 168)
• Critiques of health promotion (p. 168)
• Contribution of health promotion (p. 169)
• Summary (p. 171)
• Questions (p. 171)
• Further reading (p. 172)
• Part III Influences upon Health (p. 173)
• 8 Individual Characteristics and their Influence upon Health (p. 176)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 176)
• Overview (p. 176)
• What is this all about? (p. 177)
• How do individual characteristics influence health? (p. 177)
• Foetal development (p. 177)
• Foetal programming (p. 178)
• Age (p. 181)
• Biology and biological sex (p. 181)
• Gender (p. 183)
• Hereditary and genetic factors (p. 183)
• Personality (p. 184)
• Self-esteem (p. 187)
• Nature/nurture debate and individual characteristics (p. 188)
• What does this mean? (p. 189)
• A life span perspective (p. 189)
• How is this relevant? (p. 192)
• Summary (p. 192)
• Questions (p. 193)
• Further reading (p. 193)
• 9 Social and Community Characteristics and their Influence upon Health (p. 194)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 194)
• Overview (p. 194)
• Social and community networks (p. 195)
• Social support (p. 196)
• Relationship between social support and health (p. 196)
• Social capital (p. 198)
• Measuring social capital (p. 198)
• Trust and reciprocity (p. 200)
• Civic engagement (p. 200)
• Social networks (p. 200)
• Relationship between social capital and health (p. 201)
• Settings for social and community networks (p. 204)
• The family (p. 204)
• Faith-based organizations (p. 205)
• Implications for policy and practice (p. 206)
• Social and community networks (p. 209)
• Summary (p. 209)
• Questions (p. 211)
• Further reading (p. 211)
• 10 The Physical Environment and its Influence on Health (p. 212)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 212)
• Overview (p. 212)
• What is this all about? (p. 213)
• Physical environment (living and working conditions) (p. 214)
• Agriculture and food production (p. 214)
• Water and sanitation (p. 217)
• Housing (p. 218)
• The working environment (p. 220)
• Unemployment (p. 221)
• Education (p. 223)
• Health care services (p. 224)
• What does this mean? (p. 225)
• How is this relevant? (p. 225)
• Summary (p. 227)
• Questions (p. 227)
• Further reading (p. 227)
• 11 Policy Influences upon Health (p. 229)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 229)
• Overview (p. 229)
• What is social policy? (p. 230)
• Social policy as a determinant of health (p. 233)
• Current policy issues (p. 235)
• The British Welfare State (p. 236)
• Ideological and political values (p. 239)
• Health services as a determinant of health (p. 242)
• Healthy public policy (p. 243)
• The broader policy environment (p. 244)
• The importance of fiscal policy (p. 246)
• Social policy and health studies (p. 247)
• Summary (p. 249)
• Questions (p. 249)
• Further reading (p. 249)
• 12 The Global Context of Health (p. 251)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 251)
• Overview (p. 251)
• Why is global health important? (p. 251)
• How does the global context influence health? (p. 252)
• Globalization (p. 252)
• Migration (p. 254)
• Trade (p. 255)
• The environment (p. 258)
• Inequalities (p. 259)
• Financing and health care (p. 262)
• Health governance and policy (p. 264)
• Why is all of this important? (p. 268)
• Summary (p. 270)
• Questions (p. 270)
• Further reading (p. 270)
• 13 Synthesizing Perspectives: Case Studies for Action (p. 272)
• Key learning outcomes (p. 272)
• Overview (p. 272)
• Malaria case study (p. 273)
• Strategies to tackle malaria (p. 273)
• Cervical cancer case study (p. 277)
• Strategies to tackle cervical cancer (p. 277)
• Health and neighbourhoods case study (p. 282)
• Strategies to improve neighbourhood health (p. 284)
• The determinants of health 'rainbow' (p. 287)
• Key strengths of the rainbow model (p. 288)
• How the rainbow model might be improved (p. 289)
• Summary (p. 293)

Author notes provided by Syndetics