ABSTRACT
Social factors are also important in influencing the manner in which societies organize their resources to cope with health hazards and deliver health care to the population at large. Individuals, groups, and societies typically respond to health problems in a manner consistent with their culture, norms, and values. As Donald Light (Light and Schuller 1986:9) explains, "medical care and health services are acts of political philosophy." Thus, social and political values influence the choices made, institutions formed, and levels of funding provided for health. It is no accident that the United States has its particular form of health care delivery and other nations have their own approaches. Health is not simply a matter of biology but involves a number of factors that are cultural, political, economic, and-especially-social in nature. It is the social aspects of health that are examined in this book.
