Connecting a sociology of childhood perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing:introduction

In the last decades we have seen a growing interest in research into children's own experiences and understandings of health and illness. This development, we would argue, is much stimulated by the sociology of childhood which has drawn our attention to how children as a social group are placed and perceived within the structure of society, and within inter-generational relations, as well as how children are social agents and co-constructors of their social world. Drawing on this tradition, we here address some cross-cutting themes that we think are important to further the study of child health: situating children within health policy, drawing attention to practices around children's health and well-being and a focus on children as health actors. The paper contributes to a critical analysis of child health policy and notions of child health and normality, pointing to theoretical and empirical research potential for the sociology of children's health and illness.

Connecting a sociology of childhood perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing:introduction

This chapter focuses on concepts and theoretical points of departure found in child health and wellbeing studies. Firstly, seeing children as a social group draws attention to the ways this group is placed and perceived in the structures of societies. Children as a social group need to be understood in relation to other social groups. Secondly, understanding children as social agents and as co-constructors of their social worlds is fundamental to studying their experiences and ways of dealing with health and wellbeing in everyday life. Thirdly, in recent years, there has been a turn towards seeing children as beings. The chapter discusses the child health issues and concerns in contemporary society. Children are diagnosed with an increasing range of conditions and are subject to more and more elaborate child health and welfare interventions, reflecting a medical perspective on the changing panorama of illness and health risks in the 21st century.

Contextualising accounts of illness:Notions of responsibility and blame in white and South Asian respondents' accounts of diabetes causation

We undertook a secondary analysis of in-depth interviews with white (n = 32) and Pakistani and Indian (n = 32) respondents who had type 2 diabetes, which explored their perceptions and understandings of disease causation. We observed subtle, but important, differences in the ways in which these respondent groups attributed responsibility and blame for developing the disease. Whereas Pakistani and Indian respondents tended to externalise responsibility, highlighting their life circumstances in general and/or their experiences of migrating to Britain in accounting for their diabetes (or the behaviours they saw as giving rise to it), white respondents, by contrast, tended to emphasise the role of their own lifestyle 'choices' and 'personal failings'. In seeking to understand these differences, we argue for a conceptual and analytical approach which embraces both micro- (i.e. everyday) and macro- (i.e. cultural) contextual factors and experiences. In so doing, we provide a critique of social scientific studies of lay accounts/understandings of health and illness. We suggest that greater attention needs to be paid to the research encounter (that is, to who is looking at whom and in what circumstances) to understand the different kinds of contexts researchers have highlighted in presenting and interpreting their data. © 2007 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Australia's health 2004 : the ninth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health 2004 is the ninth biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It is the nation's authoritative source of information on patterns of health and illness, determinants of health, the supply and use of health services, and health services expenditure. The report also includes a special chapter on the health of older Australians. Australia's Health 2004 is an essential reference and information resource for all Australians with an interest in health.

Australia's health 2002 : the eighth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health 2002 is the eighth biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It is the nation's authoritative source of information on patterns of health and illness, determinants of health, the supply and use of health services, and health service costs and performance. Australia's Health 2002 is an essential reference and information resource for all Australians with an interest in health.

Australia's health 2000 : the seventh biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australia's Health 2000 is the seventh biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It is the nation's authoritative source of information on patterns of health and illness, determinants of health, the supply and use of health services, and health services costs and performance.This 2000 edition serves as a summary of Australia's health record at the end of the twentieth century. In addition, a special chapter is presented on changes in Australia's disease profile over the last 100 years.Australia's Health 2000 is an essential reference and information source for all Australians with an interest in health.

The influence of patient and doctor gender on diagnosing coronary heart disease

Using novel methods, this paper explores sources of uncertainty and gender bias in primary care doctors' diagnostic decision-making about coronary heart disease (CHD). Claims about gendered consultation styles and quality of care are re-examined, along with the adequacy of CHD models for women. Randomly selected doctors in the UK and the US (n=112, 56 per country, stratified by gender) were shown standardised videotaped vignettes of actors portraying patients with CHD. Patients' age, gender, ethnicity and social class were varied systematically. During interviews, doctors gave free-recall accounts of their decision-making, which were analysed to determine patient and doctor gender effects. We found differences in male and female doctors' responses to different types of patient information. Female doctors recall more patient cues overall, particularly about history presentation, and particularly amongst women. Male doctors appear less affected by patient gender but both male and especially female doctors take more account of male patients' age, and consider more age-related disease possibilities for men than women. Findings highlight the need for better integration of knowledge about female presentations within accepted CHD risk models, and do not support the contention that women receive better-quality care from female doctors.

Children, health and well-being:policy debates and lived experiences

This book brings together new and leading scholars, who demonstrate the importance of research with children and from a child perspective, allowing for a fuller understanding of the meaning and impact of health and illness in children’s lives. •Demonstrates the importance of research with children and research from a child perspective, in order to fully understand the meaning and impact of health and illness in children’s lives •Encourages critical reflection on contemporary health policy and its relationships to culturally specific ways of knowing and understanding children’s health •Brings together new and leading scholars in the field of children’s health and illness •Moves the highly important issue of children’s health into the mainstream sociology of health and illness