...Unit: 7 Sociological perspectives in Health and Social Care P2 In this assignment I will be defining the different concepts of health& ill health and how theorists relate their theories to health. I will also assess the biomedical and socio-medical models of health. There are many definitions of health; many sociologists have a difficulty in finding a definition for the word health. Health can be defined in negative terms, as ‘the absence of disease’. According to http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html this is contrasted with a positive definition such as the provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) IN 1974: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. A negative concept of health is therefore opposed to a positive concept of health as being worried with people’s physical, intellectual, social and emotional wellbeing. According tohttp://www.who.int/about/en/ The World Health Organisation is an organisation which directs and coordinates authorities for health in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for global health matters and shapes the health research agenda, setting norms, standards and providing support in countries. In the health and social care settings, health care professionals usually implement a holistic approach to care and support for people. They see their role as addressing the needs of the whole person rather than single matters or identified problems. A person with...
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...P2 Explain different sociological approaches to health and ill health There are different approaches to health and ill health in sociology, and these include Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism and Interactionism. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1974 defines positive health as a state of complete physical mental, social, spiritual and well-being not merely the absence of disease. The holistic approach is based on addressing the individual’s physical, social, emotional and spiritual health needs. The functionalist approach to health and ill health In the functionalist model, Parsons argued that illness is a form of deviance that disturbs the social function of a society; within the functionalist approach to health it studies the relationship between a sick individual and the society as a whole. Parsons stated that for the society to function efficiently the members of the society must be free from illness and must be of well health. Functionalists argued that stability and cooperation are very crucial for a society to function efficiently; functionalists explain that through the process of socialisation we learn our society’s general norms, values and social roles. An example of this is, saying “thank you or please” these are some of the values that are treasured within societies, and an example of a social role would be a grandmother fulfilling the role as a grandmother. For the grandmother to fulfil her role, the individual has to look after the grandchildren so...
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...Approach: This approach strongly believes that health and social care services provided in society only serve the interest of the more presiding social classes rather than those of the patients. This is because doctors and other health professionals are viewed as the agents of the ruling class hence, they ensure the labour force or proletariat are healthy by treating them from their illness as soon possible. Their main role is to provide company owners with a healthy workforce. In addition to all this, the government allows unhealthy products such as junk food and tobacco to be produced and sold in order for companies to make profits when in actual facts the ruling class is benefitting from the issues of illness. Large firms, factories and large cars pollute the atmosphere and environment as they as they continue to produce toxic waste creating the same problem of ill health as being concerned with the differences in social class. People in poor areas, who have a high level of unemployment and whose environments have been polluted face a higher level of illness and a lower life expectancy. The government does little to tackle the issues of the root causes of health and change situations as it will cost a lot of money. Interactionist approach: This approach looks at society in 3 levels. 1. The subjective (based on interpretation) experience of health and illness: this process is about people’s different meanings of health and how they define themselves as ill. For example...
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...Sociology of Health Author’s Name Institution’s Affiliation Sociology of Health The social perspective in sociology of health explains the society's view concerning health. It is a discipline that describes an illness using social factors present in daily activities of life. Sociologists show how wellness and disease, the treatment and explanation of illness production in a social organization can be understood differently from a medical perspective of nature, biology, and lifestyle in an attempt of explaining sickness (Bahar, 2013). It is a significant facet of interpreting biological information that shows the creation of health and disease in a political, social, and cultural environment. In describing various social phenomena, sociologists examine how social life impacts morbidity and mortality rates and how it alternatively influences the society. Medical sociology uses sociological theory to explain the relationship between social factors and health to define this issue and its systems (Amzat & Razum, 2014). Amzat and Razum (2014) demonstrate that it tends to separate nature from the community. It means that it illustrates how scientific knowledge mediates social relations. Moreover, medical sociology shows how the technical realm of medical practice is inconsistent with social processes in nature. It is a claim of understanding constructivism through an objective in natural science. Various studies identify the inconsistencies between current medical practice...
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...definition of health, contrasted with a positive definition, such as that provided by the ‘World Health Organisation' (WHO) in 1974, with its positive and negative concept of health and the definition of disease and its connection to the social model. It will then be followed by the study of Mildred Blaxter (1990). I will also be explaining the definition of the ‘sick role' which was introduced by Talcott Parsons, with its positive and negative effects on the society. Following by an explanation of the doctor-patient relationship with the theory of the functionalist approach by Barber (1963) and by also critically evaluating ways in which the medical profession exercises social control as well as their contribution to ill health and their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, I will analyse the key issues relating to the political economy of the health industry. Over the year's sociologist have tried to come up with a good definition of health, however, they were all elusive. According to the ‘World Health Organisations' (WHO) (1946), good health meant "Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" its definition was seen as a positive concept as it focused not only on being free from any diseases but it emphasised in a mixture of physical, mental, emotional and social well-being, this was seen to be so complete but yet unachievable. The negative concept of health is opposed to a positive concept of health, it was...
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...The U.S. Health Care System Catherine Wiley HCS531 September 12, 2011 Kenneth Feldman The U.S. Health Care System A health care system is a “network of agencies, facilities, and providers of health care within a specific geographic region” (Widipedia). The health care system is designed to meet the health care needs of a target population. According to Shi and Singh (2008), “A health care delivery system has two primary objectives: 1. Provide health care to all its’ citizens; 2. Services must be cost effective and meet standards of quality” (5). A system, “consists of a set of interrelated and interdependent components designed to achieve some common goals, and the components are logically coordinated (Shi & Singh, 28). As Shi & Singh (2008) state the health care system in the United States is a mixed market system. The source of coverage comes from the government, insurance from employers, and private payment. The health care system in the United States is not a system because there is no standardization, and is fragmented. Financing, insurance, delivery, and payment is from private and public sources. These four components creates the fragmentation of the system. These components compose the Quad-function Model and are necessary for the delivery of care in the United States. The components overlap to varying degrees in traditional insurance, government-run insurance...
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...Health Care Organization and Delivery System Health Care Organization and Delivery System HCS/531 November 09, 2011 In the current era of technology, health care system continues to research on improvising the various ways on delivering outstanding health services to its people. In health care industry, majority of the developed countries are run by national insurance generated by enforced general taxes. Unlike in United States healthcare insurances are run by partly private and government institution ensuring individuals based on certain eligibility. Although the distinct system in the United States protrudes as one of the best health care providers around the globe, some individuals considered it as unmanageable catastrophic scheme. Additional information regarding United States health care system, the implications of its belief and values, and some models of health care delivery used in America are presented below. The health care delivery system of United States is a complicated organization involving education and research, medical suppliers, private, and government insurers, health care providers, payers, and the government. It composed an approximate number of 10 million in employment from doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, administrators, caregivers, and more. The system also involves several institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, mental health facilities, and clinical sites serving millions of people yearly...
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...Clinical model of health The term ‘health’ has a broad meaning in human life. It takes into consideration the state of the body functioning, the environment an individual is in and the cultural aspects the given person is part and parcel of. These include; the mental state of the person, the physical conditions of his/her body, the spiritual affiliations one is party to and the personal inner responsiveness to all that is around where one is. To understand health better, four main models are used to define it: adaptive model, clinical model, eudaimonistic model and the role performance model. However, of all the models, the clinical one has a more elaborate definition to what health is all about. This paper will present a well-researched argument on why the clinical model of health is of more preference than the others. Under the clinical model, being healthy is believed to be free from illnesses, which is characterized by: a few or no symptoms of any malady, staying free from any kind of addiction, being able to recover as soon as possible in the event that an individual gets infected and the exceptional ability to live without seeking medical attention for a long time (Fogel & Woods, 2008). In other words, this model advocates for health to the state of neither being sick nor having any injury. A person who had been sick or had been injured, is considered to be healthy immediately the symptoms of the sickness or injury are not witnessed any more. In an ideal situation,...
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...For this assignment I am going to write about my understanding and acknowledgement of the sociological perspectives and the approaches of sociology in the health and social sector. I will also include the concepts of sociology within health and social care while exploring the elements of health and illness. Sociology is the study of how society is organised and how people experience life, it is based on global issues that can affect the living beings. Sociology helps us to understand the structure and the dynamics of society and the connections between how people behave and individual life changes. It helps examine ways in which the forms of social structure, groups, communities, organisations and other social interactions with how they affect attitude, opportunities and actions. In sociology there are six principal perspectives they are Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Interactionism, Postmodernism, Collectivism and New Right. Functionalism In 1951, Talcott Parsons introduced the Functionalist view which studies the social structure fully of how it functions and how each social structure is crucial in the interests of society. Functionalism believes that humans and society have basic needs, institutions. Governments may be responsible to meet the required needs also Functionalist may consider that the different kinds of sources may limit the individual’s behaviour within the chosen society, which may mean that society will behave appropriately based on their behaviour...
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...a society to be established in order, collaboration, and equilibrium to maintain a well-functioning group of society as a whole. According to the University of North Carolina, a Structural-Functionalism view “share norms and values as the basis of society, and focuses on social order based on tacit agreements between groups and organizations, and views social change as occurring in a slow and orderly fashion.” Functionalists acknowledge that change is sometimes necessary to correct social dysfunctions, but that it must occur slowly so that people and institutions can adapt without rapid disorder. Influential functionalists emphasize medicine’s role to cure and to maintain the “normal” functioning of individuals and of society. It is a concept created by the American sociologist Talcott Parsons, a concept known as “sick role”. In this model, the “sick role” involves being compliant and wanting to get well. This can make people with incurable conditions, including disabled people who are classified as sick, seem to be deviant. The link between disability and social deviance that functionalists make influences health care and research and supports the continued dominance of professionally controlled health and welfare services for disabled people. According to the British Medical Journal “more than 70% of spending goes on the salaries of professionals working with disabled people” under current medical arrangements, and adds that, “Only recently has this been reduced through...
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...Assignment title: Sociological Approaches The purpose of this assignment is to: Enable you to gain an understanding of the different sociological approaches and how they can be used to study health and social care. Functionalist perspective The functionalist perspective analyse all aspects of institutions (jobs, education, families) within a society and discusses how they contribute to society as a whole in terms of having stability. Functionalists believe that in a society, social consensus is held together by all members of a society agreeing upon worldly matters. Functionalists believe in the central value system, the way in which agreement in society works is by socialising within institutions such as family, education, and the mass media. For example, the social norms of a family would be to: * Reproduce * Care for children, * Economic function * Providing emotional security They believe that society flows well; as well as for this to happen, functionalists express that working as one to achieve what is seen as “best” for society as a whole, is what keeps a society stable. In other words, functionalists believe that things work together harmoniously in society. One of the examples of the functionalist perspective is education: * Through education, students are able to socialise which allows them to understand other cultural backgrounds. This enables society to become more open minded upon the world which they live in. They are not so much...
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...Visiting home health nurses are a well-known profession and becoming more popular as time grows. The service of public health nursing was carried out on the frontier by nurses under the name of “Visiting nurse services” which were part of the late 19th century health reform out of ‘The Henry Street House’ in 1893, as discussed in the film “Nursing in America – A History of Social Reform”. They held many roles outside of nursing, those roles and missions and struggles will be discussed. The Henry Street House was opened in 1893 by Lilian Wald who established the phrase ‘public health nurse’, as discussed in the film “Nursing in America – A History of Social Reform”. She believed that bedside care should be provided to the public sick poor as well as treating the social and economic problems they faced and providing them with health education (Buhler-Wilkerson). She sent out nurses who traveled door to door to the families of the community of which they served. They were the major health educators to the people of the cities, many of whom could be considered for lack of a better work, ignorant. They knew not of the power of purpose of their own bodies, how to keep themselves healthy, or of their own sex organ functions. The messages of the public health nurse included education on child rearing, why immunizations were important, and information on sanitation and nutrition. They provided many services to the families they visited. In the beginning of public health nursing, nurses...
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...Unit 7: Sociological perspectives for Health and Social Care Explain the principle sociological perspectives In this section of my assignment I will be discussing some sociological perspectives, which are: * Marxism * Functionalist * Internationalism * Postmodernism But firstly, what is social structure? Social structure is split into different institutions. Social institutions Social institutions Work Work The political system The political system The economy The economy The education system The education system Religious instruction Religious instruction Socialisation is a key sociological perspective. Primary socialisation is from what your parents learn you, we also learn our behaviours from others. Socialisation refers to learning the norms, values beliefs, roles, stats and more. Marxism perspective: Marxists believe that society is based on conflict between the upper class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat). Marxists also believe that to end this in society you need a revolution. We live in a capitalist society. A capitalist society is a society that is built upon a quest for maximum amount of money; people who have a lot of money will have the most power. Marxists sees this as an evil society and it must come to an end. Karl Marx’s perspective could be argued that his idea is outdated and was writing when workers had no power or right but nowadays workers have a lot of different legal rights and have more...
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...industry is a huge social institution that people use throughout their lives. It is viewed differently in every culture and social group. It is especially viewed differently by three major sociological theories—the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist theories. These sociological perspectives can be easily applied to the healthcare industry. Sociology is the scientific study of social behavior and human groups (R. Schaefer, 2011, p. 5). It focuses on social relationships, how those relationships influence people’s behavior, and how societies, the sum total of those relationships, develop and change (R. Schaefer, 2011, p. 5). This helps form many theories of the development of the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist views of healthcare. A functionalist perspective is a sociological approach that emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability (R. Schaefer, 2011, p. 24). From a functionalist perspective, being sick must therefore be controlled so that not too many people are released from their societal responsibilities at any one time (R. Schaefer, 2011, p. 390). If this happens, then it will hurt our society and prevent it from being stable and functional. Sociologist Talcott Parsons, well known for his contributions to functionalist theory, outlined the behavior required of people who are considered sick (R. Schaefer, 2011, p. 390). This was also called the sick role. Usually when people are sick, they call out of work/school...
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...The sick role is a term used in medical sociology in regards to sickness it focuses on the rights of an individual, and also focuses on the actions that someone is required to take when sickness occurs it is a concept created by american functionalist Talcott Parsons in 1951 Illness is the presents of disease or a period of sickness affecting the body or mind. If an individual becomes sick he/she in accordance to Parsons theory should seek medical advice with hopes and intentions of getting better and back to a normal state of living because Parsons saw presents of sickness as a role he sanctioned deviance from the norm. Normally we would be able to partake in day to day activities including shopping, taking the children to school and going to work but when we are sick or ill we find it hard to carry out tasks and continue with normal routines which parsons classed as dievent behaviour, each person within the sick roles has rights and obligations they have the right to be exempt from normal day to day activities and they have the right not to be blamed or penalised for doing so, they are obligated to get well as soon as possible and seek medical advice if these things are not done an illness goes on for a longer period of time the person will loose there rights and be blamed for the long period of illness. Patients on the sick role are obligated to do as much as they can to get themselves socially fit and back to normal working conditions and or normal day to day activities...
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