The authors of this book provide a systematic, integrated review and comparison of the contributions of sociology, political science, economics, demography, anthropology, history of science and medicine, psychiatry, and psychology to a number of health-related fields, including epidemiology, health services research, and health policy studies. The book reflects the authors' attitude that multidisciplinary research efforts must be carried out in order to obtain a thorough understanding of the relationship of social science knowledge to health problems.