Social Aspects of Health,
Illness and Healthcare

By challenging conventional assumptions about the body and disease, and studying people’s own
knowledge of their bodies and perceptions of their bodily experiences, the sociology of health and
illness has generated a plethora of studies concerned with the body from a sociological viewpoint.
These have been carried out not only within the sociology of health and illness but also in other
areas, such as ageing and disability studies. Furthermore, many social changes have increased
sociological interest in the body as a social product.