The first book to fully explore the multiple ways in which body work features in health and social care and the meanings of this work both for those employed to do it and those on whose bodies they work.

• Explores the commonalities between different sectors of work, including those outside health and social care
• Contributions come from an international range of experts
• Draws on perspectives from across the medical, therapeutic, and care fields
• Incorporates a variety of methodological approaches, from life history analysis to ethnographic studies and first person accounts

Julia Twigg is Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at University of Kent and a specialist in old age, care and embodiment. Her books include The Body in Health and Social Care (2006).

Carol Wolkowitz is Reader in Sociology at University of Warwick and has written widely on gender and the sociology of work and employment. Her books include Bodies at Work (2006).

Rachel Lara Cohen is Lecturer at the University of Surrey, and a specialist in sociology of work and employment. Her books include Feminism Counts: Quantitative Methods and Researching Gender (with C Hughes, 2011).

Sarah Nettleton is a Reader in the Department of Sociology at the University of York and has researched and published on a range of health-related topics, all with a focus on the sociology of the body and embodiment. Her books include Sociology of Health and Illness (2006).