Includes bibliographical references and index.

Medical sociology and sociological theory -- Health and culture -- The sociology of the body -- Health and social stratification -- From women's health to a gender analysis of health -- Work stress and health -- Migration, health, and stress -- Health professions and occupations -- The convergence and divergence of modern health care systems -- The American health care system: entering the twenty-first century with high risk, major challenges, and great opportunities -- The evolution of health care in Canada: toward community or corporate control? -- Medical sociology in Mexico -- Social science and health in Brazil -- Medical sociology in Great Britain -- The French paradoxes -- Medical sociology in Germany -- Society, health, and health care in Sweden -- The Russian health care experiment: transition of the health care system and rethinking the sociology of medicine -- In and out of communism: the macrosocial context of health in Poland -- Transformation of the health care system in the Czech Republic: a sociological perspective -- Health and health care in South Africa against an African background -- Health, health care, and medical education in the Arab world -- Health and health care in Israel -- Medicine and health care in Australia -- Health, illness, and health policy in Japan -- The great reversal: transformation of health care in the People's Republic of China.