Sociology of Health and Illness

There is increasing recognition (including within the field of medicine) that health and illness are a function of social factors (e.g., inequality). For example, the MCAT now includes questions about health inequalities. Students who specialize in this area will be expected to understand this idea and the research that demonstrates that social inequalities matter for health. They will also be expected to be familiar with other socially oriented approaches to understanding health outcomes like depression, morbidity, and mortality. This often involves understanding not just a range of theories concerning why different individuals have different health outcomes, but also a range of methods (both clinical and otherwise) for understanding health outcomes.

Related people

Image of Rachel Dunifon
Rachel Dunifon

Professor, Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean, College of Human Ecology

Image of Douglas Heckathorn
Douglas Heckathorn

Professor Emeritus

Image of Vida Maralani
Vida Maralani

Associate Professor

Image of Kelly Musick
Kelly Musick

Professor of Public Policy and Sociology, Associate Dean of Research

Image of Karl Pillemer
Karl Pillemer

Hazel E. Reed Professor of Human Development and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine

Image of Erin York Cornwell
Erin York Cornwell

Associate Professor

All research areas

Community and Urban Sociology    Computational Social Science    Culture    Economy and Society    Gender    Inequality and Social Stratification    Methodology    Organizations, Work and Occupations    Policy Analysis    Political Sociology and Social Movements    Race, Ethnicity and Immigration    Science, Technology and Medicine    Social Demography    Social Networks    Social Psychology    Sociology of Education    Sociology of Family    Sociology of Health and Illness   
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