Sociological approaches are imperative to assist in shaping in healthcare, which comes from sequences of economic ideologies and based on interpretations about the equity and the effectiveness of care that considered as the core components for determining performance of health care system. Duckett (2008) suggests that the requirement of the reformation process of the Australian health care system and the evidence-based research by Marmot investigates about the social determinants of health. Marmot’s Whitehall studies which explain the interrelated relationship between unequal health outcomes, social justice and equality which are depending on the individuals’ social standing. The studies demonstrated that the great gaps of mortality and morbidity …show more content…
With the emerging economic rationalism influenced on the government’s welfare plans the government places a great focus on the productivity, efficiency in terms of medical practices rather than social justice or equity of health. Productivity in relation to patient care refers to attending patients within a set time schedule by creating effective workflows. Efficiency in an economic rationalism philosophical approach of healthcare system describes as the fastest manner to fulfill the task by utilising minimum resources and still continuing the quality of care (Baum, 2008). Power in the context of health, thereby, can be formed in different types in reforming the health care framework and thereby the contextual strategies and politics are essentially required to comprehend the notion of power of the healthcare system in recent years (Fleming & Parker, 2011; Germov, …show more content…
The state holds the social power in legitimising professional dominance in medicine. Therefore, with understanding of sociological and historical analysis of medical domination of midwifery would result to better comprehension of the current maternity service that operated by the state, which is imperative to establish more efficient approaches in encouraging and protecting the welfare of the pregnant women and a new born child (Fahy, 2007). Moreover, International organisations and authorities such like the International confederation of midwives, the international federation of gynaecologist and obstetricians and the world health organisation have prompted the concept of professional autonomy of midwives in the 1970s, which allows the midwives as a qualified professionals who have a responsibilities and the capacities of supervision, giving care and advice to the pregnant women through their pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period that involves the caring for the newborn and the infant (Reiger, 2000). The Australian college of midwives supported the government levels of legislation and placed greater emphasis on midwives’ role as the autonomous health professional. Nevertheless, with these improvements of the midwives professional standing, the practice