The Sociology of Health Promotion Critical Analyses of Consumption, Lifestyle and Risk

"The Sociology of Health Promotion" offers analyses of contemporary public health policy, lifestyle, consumption, risk and health. It also examines socio-political critiques of health promotion and reflects upon their implications for policy and practice. Topics include: the institutional emergence of health promotion at both global and national levels; issues of gender and race in health promotion; accidents and the risk of society; smoking; HIV and AIDS; aging; and the body and health related consumption. A key theme of the collection is that health promotion is emblematic of wider socio-cultural changes such as the demise of institutional forms of welfare and social control, a blurring of "expert" and lay knowledge, a heightened collective perception of uncontainable risks, and a shift to a consumer rather than a producer driven economy.

Promotion of health has become a central feature of health policy at local, national and international levels, forming part of global health initiatives such as those endorsed by the World Health Organisation. The issues examined in The Sociology of Health Promotion include sociology of risk, the body, consumption, processes of surveillance and normalisation and considerations relating to race and gender in the implementation of health programmes. It will be invaluable reading for students, health promoters, public health doctors and academics.

Bruce Charlton, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Charlie Davison, University of Glasgow; George Davey Smith, University of Bristol; Norma Daykin, University of the West of England; Jenny Douglas, Sandwell, Birmingham; Barry Glassner, University of California, Los Angeles; Judith Green, South Bank University, London; Mike Hepworth, University of Aberdeen; Peter Jackson, University of Teesside; Michael Kelly, University of Greenwich, London; Jennie Naidoo, University of the West of England; Martin O'Brien, University of Surrey; Richard Parish, University of Hull and Humberside College of Health; Lindsay Prior, University of Ulster; Nicki Thorogood, Guy's Dental School, London; Laurenn Yen, City and East London Family and Community Health Services