NEW! Reflecting the latest developments from the field, the Sixth Edition of THE SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH, ILLNESS, AND HEALTH CARE: A CRITICAL APPROACH has been thoroughly updated to include discussions of current events, emerging trends, and cutting-edge topics in health and health care. * This is the most up-to-date book on the market, both in content and in reference material and statistical data. It includes new coverage of such contemporary topics as the decline in primary care, mothers who choose midwives and home births instead of hospital births, the role of doctors in military engagements overseas, and much more. * NEW! Chapter 8 now includes extensive coverage of the controversial 2010 U.S. health care reform and its impact. * NEW! Race, class, and gender issues are integrated and highlighted throughout the text. * NEW! Helping students understand the big picture, the discussion of the history of illness has been moved to Chapter 1, while Chapter 2 now focuses on social sources of modern disease.