Through case studies and overviews of health risks from medical interventions, occupational practices, social and domestic life and environmental hazards the contributors address a range of questions including the following: What role do social, cultural and institutional processes play in the perception of health risks? To what extent do calculations about the probability of health risks or the acceptability of medical interventions influence the decisions and actions of specific social groups? How are health risks constructed and legitimated by scientists, governments and social movements? How do expert discourses on health risks throw light on key elements of social order and cultural change?

Written in a clear and accessible style, Medicine, Health and Risk will appeal to sociologists and policy analysts alike.