ABSTRACT
THE CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS BOOK have attempted to show the ways in which health, illness and disease, far from being objective, scientific certainties, are inextricably embedded in the history, culture and social structure of human societies. The perspectives presented have been intended to provide health professionals with an introduction to health, illness and disease in a social context. We have also introduced some of the social, political and ideological debates that underpin the provision of health care in a changing society. This, it is hoped, will enable the reader to understand more fully some of the complex issues that impinge on health and the delivery of health care. It will also, it is hoped, help them to make sense of the radical changes that health care in Britain is currently undergoing following the reforms introduced in the NHS and Community Care Act, 1990.
