 Dear students, in this module, we are going to discuss sociology and its relationship with medicine and health. Perhaps you would be surprised to see that what sociology has to do with the health and medicine. Isn't it something that has to do with the biology, that has to do with the field of medicine? So sociology has so many important implications with regards to our health behavior, with regards to our conception of health and particularly with regards to the way we are viewing our complete or total health system. So it seeks to understand the social factors that shape health and medicine and it also examines the social, cultural, economic and political factors that affect the health and health care system. So for sociologists, as the other aspects of society are important, such as family institution, education, political institution, the health care institution is also important for them. There is no such thing that sociology focuses on the biological aspects of the health care institution, or it can suggest medicines for them, or it can diagnose particular diseases. Rather, the role of sociologists is to see how your health system treats an individual, whether it is within the health system, the opportunities, the possibilities of health, the possibilities of cure, are equally available for everyone. If potential inequalities are found within them, then how can they be identified and then how can they be remedial measures. Similarly, interestingly, with regard to the entire health system, it also sees that how does a person's relationship with another person develop in this system? For example, what is the doctor-patient relationship? What is the professional relationship between a patient and a doctor? And how does all these relationships, or their nature of relationship, prove to be effective in this entire health care system? So, on the whole, it's very important to see that whatever health system exists in you, what is the structure, what is the pattern, and what is the nature of the relationship? So, in Pakistan, for example, access to health care and medicine is influenced by social factors such as income, education, gender, and so many other factors. So, when we observe the Pakistani health care system from the point of view of sociologists, we get the impression that there are potential inequalities in the Pakistani health care system. For example, we see that there is a bifurcated health care system, a public health care system, and then there is a private health care system. Those who can afford it have better health care opportunities than those who cannot afford it. Along with this, the views on the health of our people, the belief system, and the opinions are also very interesting from the point of view of sociologists, because there is not a single health care system in Pakistan, a cosmopolitan health care system, and also a conventional or traditional health system. Along with this, the spiritual health care system of a healing system is also present. So, it is very interesting to see what is the basis of the health of the people, and what is the reflection of the basis of their practices. So, it is a food for thought for you that you need to see that in Pakistan, when people are sick, how do they decide what kind of health practitioner they want to go to? Do they want to go to a spiritual healer, a doctor, a private doctor, or a public institution? So, it is very interesting to see that how people are deciding that to whom they should consult when they get sick.