The essays in this collection have been written by a new generation of social historians who seek to ground the internal developments in medicine and health care in a political, social, and cultural matrix. Drawing upon the methodology of the new social history, the authors use oral history, hospital records, city directories, rank and file writings, as well as more traditional historical sources to examine the groups, institutions, and social movements which brought about changes in the American health system at particular historical moments. The essays in this volume address three themes of central concern to the health field: the shifting boundaries between professional and lay control over the definition of health and disease; the social and economic consequences of the changing focus of health care delivery; and the complex relationship between workers, professionals, and health care institutions. -- from Book Jacket