Health and Illness

Person in scrubs with a stethoscope holding a digital globe.

Medical sociology studies the role of social factors (from small-scale interpersonal interactions to large-scale social institutions) in shaping health, illness, and health care in the U.S. and around the world. Faculty at UB study the ways in which race/ethnicity, gender, social class, social relationships, and neighborhood or environmental characteristics affect health; explore the social processes and institutions shaping health; develop innovative approaches to measuring health or determinants of health; and address current debates about health policy and health law.

Sub-fields

Faculty