Australia spends $100 billion a year on health care and its average health indicators are among the best in the world. None the less, some Australians are much less healthy than others. In exploring the question of why this is so, the course examines concepts of power and health in society and how the distribution of wealth is reflected in the health status of different social classes and ethnic groups. It also traces trends in understandings of health and public health, the challenge of alternative models of health, how the internet is bringing about changes in power relationships in the health field and explores controversies over childbirth.