Social medicine

Author: Zhang Tuohong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Social Medicine is an interdisciplinary field that emerged in the mid-19th century. China began researching and teaching this discipline in the 1950s of the 20th century. However, in just 20 years, social medicine has become a compulsory course for public health majors in medical schools, and over 20 versions of social medicine textbooks have been published nationwide. Yet, textbooks tailored for long-term students and master's degree candidates remain relatively scarce. Our book is primarily aimed at this reader group. The book has the following features:
First, it avoids merely presenting "what is" without explaining "why," addressing the deficiency of only imparting knowledge without solving thinking problems;
Second, it integrates theories from social sciences and the latest research findings, striving to deliver in-depth and comprehensive instruction;
Third, it introduces sociological theories related to health issues facing China;
Fourth, it covers new advancements in social medicine research, such as health research, health evaluation, social factors influencing health, and social policies addressing health problems, while also presenting representative and authoritative examples from abroad;
Fifth, it extensively cites domestic research findings, even interdisciplinary ones.
The book is divided into nine chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction to social medicine, covering its basic concepts and theories, the development of the discipline, and its relationship with related fields; Chapter 2 introduces the medical model, laying a philosophical foundation for the development of social medicine knowledge and theories. From Chapter 3 onward, the book covers the three traditional research areas of social medicine. Chapter 3 discusses social factors influencing health, such as socioeconomic status, culture, stress, family, and lifestyle. Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 respectively introduce basic research methods in social medicine, the concept and indicators of health evaluation, quality of life evaluation, and health risk factor evaluation. Chapters 8 and 9 elaborate on community health services and public health strategies.