Ethnographic Research in Medical Sociology

Medical sociology ranges from studies of formal medical care to those of health, healing, and caring practices outside the health care system. This field has had a history of ethnographic and qualitative research since its beginnings. Because few studies in medical sociology derive from immersion in a setting, the authors examine those qualitative works in which researchers and subjects had sustained contact. They focus only on major areas in which ethnographic contributions have clustered: (1) disability, chronic illness, and terminal illness; (2) caring and curing; (3) medical sociology in aging research; (4) socialization into health care professions; and (5) the ethnography of ethics. Throughout this review, the added value of ethnographic research to each specific area is noted. Ethnographic research has enriched medical sociology with its emphasis on descriptive detail, meanings, ongoing processes, and concepts. The article ends with a discussion of methodological considerations for conducting research and a summary statement.