Book Review
The Sage Dictionary of Health and Society
Kevin White
ISBN: 978-0-761941-16-3; 2006; 256 pages; Sage Publications Ltd, London;
Angela Cushing
Honorary Research Advisor, School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Queensland, Ipswich Campus, Ipswich QLD
This dictionary is a gem; the language is concise, the text friendly and the prevailing view of health sociology is cleverly demonstrated. White traversed difficult terrain to create a guide to the frequently encountered ideas and words in health sociology and its relevant branches, namely, the sociology of health professions, the sociology of medical knowledge, the sociology of health care and the medicalisation of health. In pursuit of word and meaning, White ventured to the interface of health sociology and medical anthropology, social psychology, medical history, the social history of health, French social theory, health administration and public health.
Nursing was not forgotten. Appearing early is the emotional cost nurses experience in caring for the dying patient. The problem of deskilling is cogently presented. White exposes economic motives behind task fragmentation in the registered nurse’s role vis-à-vis the caring responsibilities of enrolled nurses – reduced wages and increased productivity.
The author incorporates the historical background to nursing as a woman’s occupation tying it to Florence Nightingale’s introduction of ‘female’ nursing at St Thomas’. White extends Nightingale’s impact to what is germane to today’s understanding of the sociology of health; i.e. the occupational relationship between medicine and nursing known as the doctor/nurse game.
White elucidates on the current ambiguities of the role of nurse practitioner by focusing on both the responsibilities the clinical practitioner may potentially hold and those the medical practitioner may potentially shed. The former position means more autonomy in decision making for the nurse while the latter implies the status quo – the nurse does what the doctor says in terms of the tasks which have been unloaded. Other issues concerning practitioner status not included by White are the difficulties surrounding insurance and provider numbers. Also, it would have been useful if the author had identified at least one reference for each section.
White’s diligence has succeeded in capturing the nuances and sense of health sociology and this book is recommended for the bookshelves of students, academics and the people - a dictionary for society.
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