The RN16 is one of the largest in the ESA, as it is in other international and national sociological associations. Members come from university sociology departments and from applied settings such as medical schools and hospital departments of psychiatry, primary care and public health. Some are involved in theoretical work or theoretically informed empirical research while others apply a sociological understanding to health services research. Research topics vary but at the most general level focus on the impact of changing social, cultural, political and economic factors on health within Europe and beyond. More specifically they cover but are not limited to themes such as health systems, health care organisation, health professions, class inequalities in health, gender and health, ethnicity and health, migration and health, risk, bioethics, new genetics, pharmaceuticals, embodiment, lay knowledge and illness accounts, and social movements and health. Members’ interests concern both physical and mental health.