Health And Illness Are Terms That Are Commonly Interlinked,

In 1946 the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This definition integrates the main concepts of health and identifies that health can be viewed differently by individuals and groups (Bowden, 2006). Health and well-being are the result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual and emotional factors (Dunkley, 2000a).

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘health’ is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). The health and wellbeing of individuals is generally determined by their circumstances and environment, a phenomenon referred to as the social determinants of health. WHO describes the social determinants of health as:

There is a strong correlation between the social class of an individual and the health outcomes. Health and class disparities are the result of the social gradient of health within society. Health inequalities are not the result of an individuals behaviour towards their health but due to the structural issues within society which create health disparities. Their needs to be a greater emphasis on recognising and understanding class as a social determinant of health, through the examination of the sociology theory Marxism. By examining social class from a Marxist perspective allows for an understating of why and how health inequalities exist in order to implement effective health intervention.

There are a lot of different definitions of health and ill health all of which are socially constructed; meaning that social issues usually influence a new theory or alter an old definition of health. In this section I will be analysing different definitions of health and ill health.

According to the dictionary, the word health is “the state of being free from illness.” At a first glance, this defination seems to be very direct and simple, however the meaning of the word ‘health’ nowadays is much more complex. The above definition pretty much sums up our view of health in the first half of the 20th century.

Marxist theory believes that there is a relationship between health and illness and capitalist social organisation. The main focus is on how the definition and treatment of health and illness are influenced by the nature of economic activity in a capitalist society. Marxist believe that the health service exists for two reasons, they believe it has a genuine role in that it persuades a large number of the population that capitalism ‘cares’ for them (Moore, 2008 p.263).

The Marxist approach looks at the two reasons they believe the health service exists, firstly it persuades society that our capitalist society cares, it legitimises capitalism by limiting social unrest and class conflict. The second reason, is that is enables the workers to carry on working for the bosses, as when they are ill the health service makes them better and allows them to carry on being a productive member of the workforce. This theory would explain why certain members of society such as the elderly and those with mental health problems receive less funding and care, they are not productive members of society therefore receive less expenditure.

The definition of health is fluid, ever changing and carries different meanings across individuals, societies and cultures. Although it is difficult

In this assignment I hope to effectively discuss and evaluate the patterns and trends associated with health and illness within the higher and lower social classes. I am going to do this by discussing and evaluating the following explanations and perspectives within sociology; Artefact explanation, Natural or Social Selection explanation, Cultural or Behavioural explanation and Materialist or Structuralist explanation.

Distinction 1 - Evaluate different sociological explanations for patterns and trends of health and illness in two different social groups.

In modern society there is a general consensus that ‘good health’ is something that everyone wants to experience and that each individual knows what this involves. Because there are so many different definitions of health and ill health it can become a very complicated concept. Walsh (2011) states that “In sociological terms ‘health’ and ‘illness’ are contested concepts. This means that the general meaning of these words should not be taken for granted.

The content emphasizes acting on a critical awareness of social structures and processes that systematically disadvantage the health of people, with the context

This essay will discuss ways in which a person’s socioeconomic class and his/her social situation can have an impact on his/her health, using examples. We believe that there is a direct link between socioeconomic/social class and health (Adler et al. 1994). I will be defining the key terms: socioeconomic and health, social class then proceed to discuss about how poverty, income, employability, environment and housing can impact on a person’s social situation and their health.

Health and absence of illness are the terms which are generally used synonymously. The concept of health has evolved over the years. The major components of health- mind and body have come a long way to define the concept of health. The concept of mind and body and their connection and interaction has been a topic of debate since a long time. Now we conclude that the mind is about mental processes, thought and consciousness while the body constitutes of physical aspects of the brain-neurons and how the brain is structured. But their definition and connection in relation to health have undergone a change.

Definitions about what a healthy person is and what illness is have changed significantly over time. The World Health Organisation states that ‘’Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’’. Whilst this definition has not changed since 1946, the understandings of what constitutes an illness has greatly. For example, at the time of this definitions publication, homosexuality was seen as deviant or an illness to be cured, whereas in modern western society it is no longer considered as such. Similarly, menstruating women are often diagnosed with PMS, which is now medically considered an illness but was overlooked in the past. In modern western societies, health and illness is often understood using a primarily biological approach, called the biomedical model, which holds a strong focus on finding cures for various diseases and allowing people to survive for longer. However, over the last two centuries sociologists have challenged the model, often arguing that a biological approach cannot be entirely sufficient for understanding health and illness. This essay will explore the evolution biological approach and social theoretical critiques including the existence of health inequalities and the over reliance on surgical and other invasive procedures in order to determine whether it is solely sufficient in understanding health and illness. It will discuss how the social construction of health and illness