Medicine and health issues are the mirrors reflecting the ideology, and social and cultural beliefs and values of a society. This course intends to allow students to understand medicine and health issues from a social science angle. With the application of various social science traditions and public health principles, students are enabled to critically examine the issues of health, disease, and illness from a socio-cultural perspective. They can understand a wide range of factors – biological, social, cultural, and environmental – in shaping people's health beliefs, illness experiences, and health behaviours.