This wide-reaching handbook offers a new perspective on the sociology of health, illness and medicine by stressing the importance of social theory, and giving due attention to theorists often overlooked in the healthcare field including Harriet Martineau and Raewyn Connell, as well as more widely known theorists such as Michel Foucault and Max Weber.

Here for the first time is a compendium of both male and female social theorists from the turn of the 19th century to the present day. Within these chapters, leading international sociologists from Europe, America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada investigate the key concepts and theories of a single theorist, looking at the way their ideas such as medicalisation, reflexivity, capitalism, hegemonic masculinity, the biomedical model and social stigma can be used to understand specific health issues including men's health, Indigenous health, disability, the health professions and chronic illness.

Providing a systematic and comprehensive overview of social theory's contribution to our understanding of health, illness and medicine, this handbook will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students in the fields of Health, Medical Sociology and Social Theory.