...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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...Health Essential Concepts Allopathic –cure based – the biomedical approach takes this approach via surgery, drugs etc. Alternative medicine – see complementary medicine Altruism – the idea that some medical professionals are motivated by the need to put society first rather than financial reward – functionalists such as Barber often argue this. Artefact approach – an approach that believes that the statistics about class and health exaggerate the real situation. Bio-medical model of health – the conventional Western model of health which sees the body as a machine under attack from germs etc and which insists on diagnosis of symptoms by medical professionals. Birth rate – the number live births per 1000 of the population each year. Clinical iceberg – the idea that most illness never comes to the attention of doctors because it is self-medicated. Complementary medicine – alternative forms of health therapy, usually disapproved of by the medical profession, e.g. homeopathy, acupuncture etc. Cultural explanations of health – blame the victims (or their culture) for engaging in unhealthy behaviour and lifestyles, e.g. smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise etc. Cultural relativity of health and illness – the idea that different cultures explain and react differently to illness, e.g. some take a holistic approach, some blame witchcraft or magic, Hindus refer to chest pains as a ‘sinking heart’ etc. Disability – a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and...
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...I will be looking at the effects of acute and chronic illness on society, particularly in Britain, and the differences between public and private healthcare in their treatment of these problems. Great Britain has a relatively high level of public expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of its GDP. In terms of its healthcare structure it is one of the most public systems as it has a National Health Service, thus offering free healthcare to all residents. The system differs greatly from the more market driven and private healthcare structure of the US. Because of the provision of free healthcare, the vast majority of people in Britain use public healthcare as opposed to the expensive private alternative. However, this does not mean that public healthcare in the UK is superior to other countries as the government struggles constantly with the cost of maintaining the NHS. This leads to a number of cost cutting initiatives, rationing and an inability to purchase the most expensive and advanced medical equipment. The British government also suffers with such problems as bed blocking as hospitals are over subscribed with patients, which leads to increased waiting times for ill people. These problems occur far less in private healthcare sector in the UK, which is of a high level, but it is difficult for the majority to afford. An acute illness is one, which begins and progresses rapidly such as a cold or flu. The person is fine one moment and in urgent need of medical help...
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...significantly over the years and have led to various new and improved treatments. It is often thought of whether the stigma against mental health led to a bias coming from doctors. In the past it was apparent due to the fact that no one really thoroughly studied mental health until later on when it was thought that hey, maybe there wasn’t a devil residing in that person but a disorder in their minds that causes them to lose control. In the past, doctors seemed hesitant to pursue this field of study but in the end pushed through the stigma and ‘witchcraft’ surrounding it and were able to get in gear and find possible solutions to something that was inconceivable. Doctors of the present vary greatly than they did before considering it was a profession that wasn’t followed. Today we have all kinds of doctors who are able to treat mental illness in different ways. These doctors include primary care doctors, holistic and alternative medicine doctors, psychologists, psychoanalysts, and psychiatrists (Goldberg). Each of these doctors has their own way of treating for the mentally ill. Most of the time pills or talk therapy are the main methods and seem to work the best. There are also herbal remedies and improving one’s well-being rather than with medication such as St. John’s Wort that can be used to treat depression (Curran). Controlling a person’s mental health would make it easy for a doctor to abuse their power and sadly some of them are not above doing such things. There are stories of...
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...This brief abstract is a concept note on the subject of sociology of health and illness. It is going to give a brief sketch background of medical sociology, highlight various definitions of what is health, illness and how the production, distribution and patterns of diseases are influenced by the context in which they occur. The biomedical understanding of health and illness was entirely in the context of bacteriology and immunology dominated the subject of heath care systems for centuries. The history of medical sociology began in the 1800 with extensive contributions of Virchow to social medicine (Virchow, 1864). The resurgence of medical sociology and its institutionalization emerged in the 1960s and 1970s following the deficiencies of biomedicine to account various diseases which came about on the eve of industrialization and urbanization. Some diseases have their roots in the economic, social, cultural, political and environmental context. It is in these backdrops among other reasons that the sociology of health and illness gained recognition and institutionalization. Medical sociology did not discredit biomedical explanations and practice but have attributed that production, patterns, distribution and reproduction of health and illness is socially constructed (Waitzkin et al., 2001; Foucault, 1977; White, 2006). Sociology of health and Illness uses sociological perspectives such as the Sick role (Parsons, 1951), historical materialist approaches (Engels, 1844/1973), interactionist...
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...other minorities, cannot only effect certain races physically, but mentally. Mental health as a social construct can be influential to an individual’s psychological health, and differential exposure to deleterious race-related experiences along with generic vicissitudes, for African Americans, may create higher rates for poorer mental health. Though race is not a real concept but rather created by society, it does serve as an important aspect concerning the...
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... Topics 2 and 3 – Sociological Perspectives on Health and Illness Gray, D. (2006) Health Sociology: An Australian Perspective, Sydney: Pearson (Chapter 2: Theoretical Approaches to Health and Illness). http://www.csu.edu.au/division/library/ereserve/pdf/gray-d1.pdf Topic 4 – The Australian Health Care System and Medical Dominance Allsop, J. (2006) ‘Medical Dominance in a Changing World: The UK Case’, Health Sociology Review, 15(5): 444-457. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/203159309/1366604FAEF6B748988/5?accountid=10344 Benoit, C., Zadoroznyj, M., Hallgrimsdottir, H., Treloar, A. and Taylor, K. (2010) ‘Medical Dominance and Neoliberalisation in Maternal Care Provision: The Evidence from Canda and Australia, Social Science and Medicine, 71: 475-481. http://ac.els-cdn.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/S027795361000314X/1-s2.0-S027795361000314X-main.pdf?_tid=f431c118-1bdd-11e2-8e5b-00000aab0f26&acdnat=1350865267_a1391f139d0114a9d79046d28e270495 Topic 5 – Healthcare Workers: Nursing and Allied Health Speed, S. and Luker, K.A. (2006) ‘Getting a Visit: How District Nurses and General Practitioners “Organise” Each Other in Primary Care’, Sociology of Health and Illness, 28(7): 883-902. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2006.00511.x/pdf Di Luzio, G. (2008) ‘Medical Dominance and Strategic Action: The Fields of Nursing and Psychotherapy in the German Health Care System, Sociology of Health and Illness, 30(7): 1022-1038. http://onlinelibrary...
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...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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...2/17/2016 HLSC12O: SOCIETY, CULTURE AND HEALTH Lecture One: Introduction Introductions Teaching staff: Please check your campus unit outline Unit Outline: Learning outcomes Assessment Content Group introduction and activity Assessment tasks Assessment Task Word length Weight (or equiv) Teamwork: Student Seminar 20‐25 mins 20% Written Exam 2,000 words 40% Reflective Writing Assignment 1,750 words 40% 1 2/17/2016 Topics for Today • A sociological approach and the sociological imagination • Biomedical model • Globalisation and health After this session you will be able to..... Explain basic features of a sociological approach to health and illness Describe the key characteristics of the biomedical model Define some of the key concepts that inform a sociological approach to health and illness Consider the value of a sociological approach to health and illness for health workers. Let’s start with some questions … o Why do people stop taking antibiotics before they have finished the packet? o Why do people smoke even when they know its unhealthy? o Why are women more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men? o Why are poor people sicker than rich people? o Why do people seek complementary and alternative remedies rather than going to the doctor? o Why do migrants to Australia have more accidents at work? o Why is there a 15‐20 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Australians...
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...Compare and contrast the four main models of health in the Sociology of Health literature, and explain how each of them has influenced our understanding of the concept of health and well-being. Health is a term that is commonly debated and the definition varies from one profession to another and is a controversial term. The World Health Organisation describes health as: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948) This definition was formulated in 1948 and at the time was a breakthrough in the health care sector and was finally seen as a positive definition of health, rather than negative. Most definition concentrated on disease and illness. There are some criticisms that state that the model describes health as a ‘state’ rather than a process and does not put any certain boundaries on what is considered “health”. In healthcare, models are used to diagnose and explain an individual’s health. There are four main models that dominate the health care profession which are the biomedical model, social model, biopsychosocial model and the holistic model. In this essay I will discuss all four models by looking at their advantages and limitations in health care. The biomedical model is a dominant model of disease in contemporary medicine and was devised by medical scientists for the study of disease. It was created as a scientific model therefor involved a set of scientific assumptions and rules. Biomedicine...
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...Introducing Sociology Unit 1 – Individual Project Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines Kessa Barnes American Intercontinental University Abstract According to sociologist, C.Wright Mills, people often believe that their private lives can only be explained in terms of their personal successes and failures. They fail to see the links between their own individual lives and the society around them. The process of interpreting your individual life in the context of your community or the society in which you live is called the sociological imagination. In this research paper, I will discuss how being a homeless person have an impact on society, I will explain how being homeless can affect a person mental and physical health, it can have an impact on the crime rate, and it can have a major impact on the taxes that are paid by citizens. Sociology is the study of society and the human social interaction. Sociology is also the way of studying the social status and the social structures of society, social change, and social movements, and the breakdown of society through crime and through revolution (www.newworldencyclopedia.org). Scientist who study Sociology do research on this subject to get and understanding on how and why people live the way they do and is it a result from the environment they live in. The study of Sociology can establish a balance between theories and facts successfully using scientific methods to study social actions, its outcomes...
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...usually influences people’s experience of health and illness. According to Armstrong (1980), women live about average of five years longer than men but women also suffer more illnesses compared to men throughout their lifetime. The reasons for these differences have been narrowed down to two possible explanations. First of all, difference in the biological constitutions of the different sexes which means that the two different genders experiences different type of illnesses and secondly, sometimes there are gender related actions and approaches to the concept of health and illness that differs amongst gender (Annandale, 2003). In this essay, key terms such as gender, health and illness will be discussed using essay. Also, this essay will be examined in three dimensions. Firstly, the gender differences that influence people’s health and experience of illnesses will be discussed. Secondly, using evidences, gender health inequalities will also be outlined. Thirdly, the importance and relevance of a nurse being aware of these gender inequalities and differences will also be examined. The sociological definition of gender is the cultural ideas and the distinct social expectation from male and female. This is different from sex which focuses on differences based on the biological composition of the body for example reproductive function and certain characteristics for instance breast development (Johnson, 2000). According to The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2012), gender is defined...
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...Version 1.0 General Certificate of Education June 2011 Sociology 1191 SCLY2 Education with Research Methods; Health with Research Methods Unit 2 Mark Scheme Mark schemes are prepared by the Principal Examiner and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation meeting attended by all examiners and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation meeting ensures that the mark scheme covers the candidates’ responses to questions and that every examiner understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for the standardisation meeting each examiner analyses a number of candidates’ scripts: alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed at the meeting and legislated for. If, after this meeting, examiners encounter unusual answers which have not been discussed at the meeting they are required to refer these to the Principal Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of candidates’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. Further copies of this Mark Scheme are available...
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...Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science (a term with which it is sometimes synonymous) which uses various methods of empirical investigation[1] and critical analysis[2] to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity. For many sociologists the goal is to conduct research which may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes. Subject matter ranges from the micro level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure.[3] The traditional focuses of sociology have included social stratification, social class, culture, social mobility, religion, secularisation, law, and deviance. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the Internet, and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge. The range of social scientific methods has also expanded. Social researchers draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The linguistic and cultural turns of the mid-twentieth century led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches to the analysis of society. Conversely, recent decades have seen the rise of new analytically, mathematically and computationally rigorous techniques...
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