About New Sociological Perspectives on Health and Illness
New Sociological Perspectives on Health and Illness
About this Collection
Different phases of activity in sociology have shaped the development of the sociology of health and illness, particularly in Western countries. The subdiscipline has also moved on to develop its own extensive body of empirical and theoretical literature. These phases have spawned a range of new topics; consequently, this Collection focuses on more recent developments and debates in the global sociology of health and illness and calls for papers to focus on this theme. Ultimately, this Collection aims to serve as a platform featuring such contributions from around the world.
Central to the most recent phase of activity has been the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only did it emphasize the need for a more extensive sociological analysis of pandemics, which was previously a relatively neglected topic, but it was the catalyst for the development of a number of other topics. One of these concerns is the consequences of the social process of globalization, where it became evident that illness is a global traveler. However, pharmaceutical treatments and vaccination programs did not always have an easy path of travel; they were shown to be influenced by political and commercial interests, which were depicted as a reflection of vaccine nationalism or racial segregation. These issues exemplified global inequalities, but even in high-income countries, the pandemic further highlighted social disparities in sickness and life expectancy.
The pandemic also particularly illustrated the importance of intersectionality, with the interrelationship between socio-economic position and race/ethnicity demonstrating the additive effect of this interconnectedness. For example, the cumulative impact of structural, interpersonal, and systemic discrimination reduced the health chances of some minority ethnic groups. In addition, with COVID-19 originating in Asia, there have also been problems concerning stigma, where Asians in the West faced discrimination and violence. Therefore, we welcome papers investigating the sociological ramifications of emerging infectious diseases in this Collection and studies of how gender, race, and class affect health outcomes generally over the life course.
Further, digitalization in health care and the use of innovative technology is another area where sociological analysis has been developing recently. Through the various lockdowns, the pandemic brought into sharper focus its salience for patients and clinicians in obtaining medical consultations (telehealth) because of the requirement for social distancing. This evolution includes the widespread use of digital devices and health and fitness apps to obtain health information, measure one’s physiological functioning (biodata), and manage health lifestyle practices. The digitalization of health is another key theme of this Collection.
However, other key areas require further attention. For example, in their pursuit of professional identity, sociologists tended to steer clear of biological models of health and illness. Yet, of late, there has been increased interest in developing bio-social models of health and disease where biological and sociological perspectives complement one another in interdisciplinary research. Examples of these are found in the fields of epigenetics and neuroplasticity. Still, there is considerable scope for more extensive analysis, particularly bringing in the concept of social agency to avoid overly deterministic explanations. Gene-environment interplay thus emerges as another theme.
Other areas of interest in this Collection are mental illnesses, medicalization and pharmaceuticalization, migrant health, the social experience of health and aging, along with the patient experience of illness, including chronic illness, and the recent focus on contested or bio-mental illnesses. Theoretical innovations are also of special interest to this Collection.
This brief discussion has highlighted several key themes which papers could focus on, although the overall approach in this Collection is intended to be highly flexible and papers involving new themes or new interpretations of the existing literature in the sociology of health and illness are welcome.
Keywords: Health, illness, pandemic, COVID-19, digitalization, intersectionality, bio-social models, epigenetics, patient experience, chronic illness, telehealth, biodata, theory, health lifestyles, migrant health
Submission deadline: 30 April 2024
Any questions about this Collection? Please email editorial@routledgeopenresearch.org
Central to the most recent phase of activity has been the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only did it emphasize the need for a more extensive sociological analysis of pandemics, which was previously a relatively neglected topic, but it was the catalyst for the development of a number of other topics. One of these concerns is the consequences of the social process of globalization, where it became evident that illness is a global traveler. However, pharmaceutical treatments and vaccination programs did not always have an easy path of travel; they were shown to be influenced by political and commercial interests, which were depicted as a reflection of vaccine nationalism or racial segregation. These issues exemplified global inequalities, but even in high-income countries, the pandemic further highlighted social disparities in sickness and life expectancy.
The pandemic also particularly illustrated the importance of intersectionality, with the interrelationship between socio-economic position and race/ethnicity demonstrating the additive effect of this interconnectedness. For example, the cumulative impact of structural, interpersonal, and systemic discrimination reduced the health chances of some minority ethnic groups. In addition, with COVID-19 originating in Asia, there have also been problems concerning stigma, where Asians in the West faced discrimination and violence. Therefore, we welcome papers investigating the sociological ramifications of emerging infectious diseases in this Collection and studies of how gender, race, and class affect health outcomes generally over the life course.
Further, digitalization in health care and the use of innovative technology is another area where sociological analysis has been developing recently. Through the various lockdowns, the pandemic brought into sharper focus its salience for patients and clinicians in obtaining medical consultations (telehealth) because of the requirement for social distancing. This evolution includes the widespread use of digital devices and health and fitness apps to obtain health information, measure one’s physiological functioning (biodata), and manage health lifestyle practices. The digitalization of health is another key theme of this Collection.
However, other key areas require further attention. For example, in their pursuit of professional identity, sociologists tended to steer clear of biological models of health and illness. Yet, of late, there has been increased interest in developing bio-social models of health and disease where biological and sociological perspectives complement one another in interdisciplinary research. Examples of these are found in the fields of epigenetics and neuroplasticity. Still, there is considerable scope for more extensive analysis, particularly bringing in the concept of social agency to avoid overly deterministic explanations. Gene-environment interplay thus emerges as another theme.
Other areas of interest in this Collection are mental illnesses, medicalization and pharmaceuticalization, migrant health, the social experience of health and aging, along with the patient experience of illness, including chronic illness, and the recent focus on contested or bio-mental illnesses. Theoretical innovations are also of special interest to this Collection.
This brief discussion has highlighted several key themes which papers could focus on, although the overall approach in this Collection is intended to be highly flexible and papers involving new themes or new interpretations of the existing literature in the sociology of health and illness are welcome.
Keywords: Health, illness, pandemic, COVID-19, digitalization, intersectionality, bio-social models, epigenetics, patient experience, chronic illness, telehealth, biodata, theory, health lifestyles, migrant health
Submission deadline: 30 April 2024
Any questions about this Collection? Please email editorial@routledgeopenresearch.org
Collection Advisors
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Michael Calnan
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William Cockerham
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Miwako Hosoda
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