Previous ed.: 2007.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 358-389) and index.

1. What is sociology and why is it relevant to nurses? : What is sociology? ; Approaching sociology: the sociological imagination ; Sociology and social theory ; Our theoretical approach: social construction and critical analysis ; Using our framework to present a sociological approach for nursing students -- pt. 1. Ideas about health and illness. 2. Biomedical and sociological approaches to health and illness : Key ideas: knowledge, discourse, power and truth ; The historical development of the discourses of science and scientific medicine ; Biomedicine: a dominant discourse ; A sociological critique of the biomedical model ; The socially constructed nature of medical knowledge ; The side effects of a dominant discourse ; A sociological approach to health and illness -- 3. The media and health : The media in a globalised world ; The media and media ownership ; The authority of news media ; Constructing meaning ; Media portrayals of health and illness ; Information consumption and production: the case of the Internet -- 4. Medical technologies and health : Technologies in health ; The social construction of technology ; Technology and the diagnostic process ; Genetic technologies ; Pharmaceuticals --

Pt. 2. Social structure and health. 5. Health and illness patterns in Australia : Social patterns of health and illness ; Social structure ; Social class ; Social exclusion and marginalisation: processes that structure our social experience ; Poverty, unemployment and homelessness -- 6. Gender, sex and sexuality : Gender ; Sex and sexuality -- 7. Culture and health: ethnic diversity in healing practices and health issues : Culture, ethnicity, ethnocentrism and race ; Cultural beliefs about health and healing: lay and folk models ; Ethnicity, migration and health ; Understanding health experiences: culture, structure or both? -- 8. The health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' systems, society and culture ; Historical context: from traditional through transitional to contemporary ; The health impacts of history, society and culture ; Addressing health issues: different approaches, different solutions -- 9. Ageing, health and inequality : Patterns of ageing in Australia ; Ageing and health ; Social constructions of age ; Social exclusion ; Health care imperatives --

Pt. 3. Experiencing health and illness. 10. The body, health and lifestyle : The body as a socio-cultural construction ; Health, medicine and the body ; Approaching the body in contemporary society ; The body, public health and health practices -- 11. The illness experience: chronic illness : Chronic illness, biomedicine and the social ; Sociological approaches to chronic illness ; Stigma and chronic illness ; Mental illness -- 12. Power and responsibility in health care encounters : Health care encounters as 'social encounters' ; Pathways to health care ; Doctors, patients and power in the health care encounter ; Compliance with medical advice: a medical or social problem? ; Self-care, self-responsibility and self-management: changing relations of care ; Information technology and health care provision --

Pt. 4. Working in health. 13. Health care systems and the health workforce : The organisation of health care in Australia ; Historical context ; Social and political context ; Health expenditure ; Who works in health: the health workforce ; Professions and professionalisation ; Medical dominance -- 14. Complementary and alternative medicine : What are complementary and alternative medicines? ; Legitimacy ; Professionalisation of complementary and alternative therapists ; Who is likely to use complementary and alternative medicine? ; Converging, incorporating or integrating? -- 15. Nursing in contemporary Australia : The nursing workforce ; Nursing as a profession ; Early nursing in Australia ; 'New nursing' ; Nursing and the medical profession ; Claims to professionalism: the importance of autonomy ; The nurse-patient relationship -- 16. Nurses, sociology and health.