A Companion to Medical Anthropology

The fully revised new edition of the defining reference work in the field of medical anthropology

A Companion to Medical Anthropology, Second Edition provides the most complete account of the key issues and debates in this dynamic, rapidly growing field. Bringing together contributions by leading international authorities in medical anthropology, this comprehensive reference work presents critical assessments and interpretations of a wide range of topical themes, including global and environmental health, political violence and war, poverty, malnutrition, substance abuse, reproductive health, and infectious diseases. Throughout the text, readers explore the global, historical, and political factors that continue to influence how health and illness are experienced and understood.

The second edition is fully updated to reflect current controversies and significant new developments in the anthropology of health and related fields. More than twenty new and revised articles address research areas including war and health, illicit drug abuse, climate change and health, colonialism and modern biomedicine, activist-led research, syndemics, ethnomedicines, biocommunicability, COVID-19, and many others. Highlighting the impact medical anthropologists have on global health care policy and practice, A Companion to Medical Anthropology, Second Edition:

• Features specially commissioned articles by medical anthropologists working in communities worldwide
• Discusses future trends and emerging research areas in the field
• Describes biocultural approaches to health and illness and research design and methods in applied medical anthropology

Addresses topics including chronic diseases, rising levels of inequality, war and health, migration and health, nutritional health, self-medication, and end of life care Part of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series, A Companion to Medical Anthropology, Second Edition, remains an indispensable resource for medical anthropologists, as well as an excellent textbook for courses in medical anthropology, ethnomedicine, global health care, and medical policy.

Merrill Singer is Emeritus Professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of Connecticut, USA, as well as Senior Research Scientist in the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) at the University of Connecticut, USA. For his work in the field of medical anthropology, Professor Singer has been awarded a number of prestigious awards, including the Society for Medical Anthropology Career Award, and the Prize for Distinguished Achievement in the Critical Study. He is author and editor of numerous publications on disease interactions, global warming and health, including the Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Anthropology of Environmental Health.

Pamela Erickson is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, USA. Her research focuses on medical anthropology, maternal and child health, global health, and sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and young adults. She is fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology, and has also served on the Governing Council of the Family and Reproductive Health Section of the American Public Health Association.

César Abadía-Barrero is Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department and the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut, USA. His research interests involve medical anthropology in Latin America as well as activist-oriented themes such as health and human rights, legal and moral issues in health, social science theory, and health inequalities.