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Health Sociology: Conflict,

Competition, Cooperation

Elianne Riska, Ellen Annandale and Robert Dingwall

INTRODUCTION Kronenfeld, 1995). The initiative in Europe,
e.g., in Germany and the UK, came from
There are few specialty areas in sociology medicine and was characterized by applied
whose practitioners have pondered their mis- and practical concerns. Thus, in its begin-
sion and place in the discipline as much as ning, medical sociology was less integrated
have those in the sociology of medicine and into sociology departments in the European
health. Almost all the early medical sociolo- context than its US counterpart (Annandale
gists have looked back, traced the socio- and Field, 2001; Claus, 1983; Cockerham,
political context giving rise to their field, and 1983; Stacey and Homans, 1978). In
asked why so little theorizing has been done the British context, this is revealed in
(e.g., Horobin, 1985; Jefferys, 1996; Mechanic, A. H. Halsey’s (2004) mapping of the ebb
1993; Straus, 1999). Most specialty fields can and flow of interest in various subfields of
draw on the classics of sociology or trace sociology from 1910 to 2000. His analysis of
their roots to the early Chicago School. This topic areas which appeared in three leading
automatically locates their work solidly in general sociology journals during that period
mainstream theorizing. Medical sociology, shows that stratification, social theory, social
however, emerged and developed in the policy, political sociology, religion, educa-
US and Europe after World War II as a by- tion, economic organizations, occupations,
product of the larger socio-political project of and gender all appear more frequently than
constructing a health care system based on health and illness.
scientific and hospital medicine, ideally one Medical sociology is often connected with
that would be accessible to all citizens. practical concerns – improvements in public
In the US, the momentum for the rise of the health and equality – and only a few works
discipline, and its institutionalization, came have looked at the theoretical traditions of
from academic sociology and from financial medical sociology (e.g., Gerhardt, 1989).
support from the National Institute of Health This review uses the themes of conflict, com-
in the 1950s (Bloom, 2002; Cockerham, petition, and cooperation as analytical tools
1983; Mechanic, 1993; Pescosolido and to examine the theoretical streams that