Readings in American Health Care: Current Issues in Socio-Historical Perspective

by William G. Rothstein

Readings in American Health Care is an introduction to the historical development and current status of a wide variety of health care topics. The readings, written by historians, sociologists, economists, physicians, nurses, and public health researchers, are organized in
•    Basic mortality trends, concepts of disease, changes in medical therapy
•    Public AIDS, cigarette smoking, preventive medicine, fluoridation
•    Health Care cardiology, pathology, women in medicine, nursing, podiatry, midwives
•    Health Care hospitals, HMOs
•    Mental Illness
•    Financing Health Care
•    Medical Education
•    abortion, ethical issues, cancer control, prenatal care, home care, the pharmaceutical industry
•    Background American medicine from 1920 to midcentury.

    The readings were chosen especially for course use in history, sociology, public health, and related fields, but can also provide useful background reading for anyone interested or involved in American health care. Each selection includes an introduction, questions for the reader, and a bibliography. Scholars and students alike will find the book an invaluable resource.

426 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995