This innovative new book unravels many of the prevailing mysteries surrounding the pursuit of health and wellness today. Focusing explicitly on health rather than illness, it analyzes the way in which health and the conditions necessary for wellness are unequally distributed within society and argues that healthy societies foster healthy people. Organized into three parts, the text examines the sociological foundations of the discipline and health as a social construct before looking at the social determinants of health; the structural and behavioural factors that influence it; and the informal and formal components of the health-care system. Students will learn about the guidelines for measuring health, while considering personal, professional, and public responsibilities in the quest for good health. Engaging and comprehensive, Pursuing Health and Wellness advocates the creation of healthy societies in which people can engage in the active pursuit of healthy living and is essential reading for all students studying the sociology of health.

Alexander Segall, PhD, is a professor emeritus, research affiliate at the Centre on Aging, and a senior scholar in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Manitoba.

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"The first section of the book (theoretical approaches and measurements of health and illness) provides a very thorough overview of the field of health sociology. I also like how the theoretical approaches in the first section are re-introduced in later sections as they are applied to understand specific issues in health... The authors do a good job of differentiating between personal and structural explanations of health and illness." --Lisa Strohschein, University of Alberta

"The text shows an important paradigm shift from the study of ill health (sickness) and illness behaviour to the study of good health (wellness) and health behaviour." --Miriam Levitt, University of Ottawa

"Very readable-the authors do not talk down to students and I appreciate their willingness to make an explicit argument for the students to consider." --Ariel Ducey, University of Calgary