Introduction to the Handbook on the Sociology of Health and Medicine

This introductory chapter provides the background and aims of the handbook and an overview of the chapters. The handbook introduces some major topics and perspectives in contemporary sociology of health and medicine and offers critical perspectives on the epistemologies that inform enquiries, the goal being to encourage reflection on and debate about what, if anything, is or could be distinctive about the sociology of health and medicine. The chapter explains the process of selecting topics and authors. As the project got under way as COVID-19 commenced, authors were encouraged to reflect upon the significance of this event for the topics they examined in their chapters. To contextualise the chapters, the introduction begins by identifying some influential themes and trends in the sociology of health and medicine, including biomedical power and dominance; inequalities of health, illness and care; cultural and narrative analyses; risk and the body; the emotions; health technologies; digitisation; and the sociology of public health and health promotion (‘critical public health’). It then discusses the impacts of COVID-19, which is followed by some observations on the importance of considering histories of the sociology of health and medicine. Finally, the chapter introduces the individual chapters, which are presented within three parts: major theoretical influences and perspectives; significant empirical research themes; and emerging topics and perspectives.