Health And Illness Sociology

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.

Health-care is a sociological institution within the American Culture. Health-care has many different aspects that pertain to patients, care givers and governmental approach to supply healthcare to all citizens. Sociology is the “scientific study of social behavior and human groups.” (Schaefer, 2009) Sociology plays a large role in how Americans look at our health-care systems and approach health and illness in one’s own life.

Robin Yates’s paper, “Pregnancy and Childbirth, The 1800’s vs. Now: What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting,” was filled with many clear points on the advancement of labor and medicine since the 1800s. This essay was filled with interesting and grabbing facts; however, the structure of the essay needs more support.

Compare the role of two complementary therapies with those of more orthodox treatments – M2

M2 Use different sociological perspectives to discuss patterns and trends of health and illness in two different social groups.

Throughout society there are many different sociological approaches to health and ill health. Within society there are many different perspectives towards whom the responsibility for health falls upon and also what defines people as ill? Your health is defined by the general condition of your body and mind. An illness is defined by an impairment of normal physical or mental function. To help explain the different sociological approaches to health and ill health I will be referring to the case study of Aziz and Tamsela. Aziz and Tamsela have four young children; Tamsela’s elderly parents also live with them in their three bedroomed houses in a deprived and depressing area of London. Their house is in desperate need of repair; it is damp and

The sociological approach to health and illness focuses on the social determinants of health and how this affects the health of society. It explores where we are on the socio-economic ladder and how this determines access to healthy food, a healthy lifestyle, education, income, accommodation, healthcare, transportation and good working conditions. This approach considers culture, the behaviour of individuals and the social structures we live in, with a belief that when treating health and illness if all these areas are considered and changes are made in conjunction with modern medicine then the health of society will be improved. “If the major determinants of health are social, so must be the remedies. Treating existing disease is urgent and will always receive high priority but should not be to the exclusion of taking action on the underlying social determinants of health” (Marmot, 2005: 1103).

Mortality rates: In gender men generally die earlier than women because of many aspects of their life, for instance in general women tend to take care of them self more physically. A lot of women go on diets and a lot of exercise DVDs and detunes are mainly aimed at women. Women in general do try to eat healthy and go on diets whereas men usually aren't very aware of their diet and don’t have much intention on improving it. Women also tend to go to the doctors and seek medical advice more often and have their illnesses diagnosed and treated more often than men. Because women' generally take more care of themselves and do more to keep themselves healthy.

A Midwife’s Tale opens a window into the life of a woman living in the late eighteenth century. The book uses Martha Ballard’s journal entries as she goes about her everyday life to exam the effects of the revolutionary age of America on an obscure citizen. “Her story allows us to see what was lost, as well as what was gained, in political, economic, and social transformations of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.” Martha’s daily habits that are written throughout her journal are an effective way of looking into the past and seeing how it has affected us today. “The late eighteenth century was not only an era of political revolution, but of medical, economic, and sexual transformation.

Sicko, a documentary film by Michael Moore, describes the medical issue in which many people who live in the United States have to suffer their sickness due to the high treatment costs. Many people in the U.S. do not have health insurance because they can afford for that. However, not only people that do not have health insurance but also the people who have health insurance struggle for health care coverage when they have an illness. Moreover, compared to other countries such as Canada, England, France and Cuba, American health care system is extreme complicated and extremely expensive. To receive the treatment, patients in the United States have to go through multiple questions and processes, but there is no assurance that they will have the most effective treatment.

A sociological theory is defined as a set of ideas that provide explanations about society and its structures. Functionalism and weberianism are most influential sociological theories about health and illness. With some similarities these theories have different ways to explain health and wellness. The essay will compare and contrast the two theories in terms of health and illness and shed light on the way these theories enhance the knowledge of health professionals.

Discuss what is meant by medicalisation and in what ways we can consider diseases to be socially constructed.

This essay will focus on the biomedical and social model of health. It will be critically discussing both models using supporting theories and highlighting the limitations of each. This essay will also discuss and analyse how both models relate to lay perspectives on health and illness.

There is one undeniable fact of life; if you are human, you will get sick. This last week of college has been a trying time for me. After the first two weeks of college having gone with out a hitch, I should have guessed something bad was coming. I managed to get sick, in fact, I have never felt so terrible in my life. My throat was swollen, to the point I could not swallow, my stomach felt as if it were reenacting World War I, and I was over all physically drained. Yet, regardless of how poorly I felt, the world moves on. Everything from, extracurricular activities, classes, my study plan, and life in general, continues to march on in sickness and in health.

The treatment of physical and mental problems has undergone a rapid change in the past few decades. An increasing number of bodily and behavioural symptoms now have a recognised medical diagnosis and corresponding treatment. Sociologists have attributed these changes to the process of medicalization, wherein “non-medical problems come to be defined and treated as if they were medical issues” (McLennan, McManus & Spoonley 2009: 271). Medicalization is an ongoing, gradual process which occurs through the social construction of new diseases by groups such as health professionals (Conrad 2007: 4). It can be argued that medicalization is an active and passive process by which diseases are constructed in an attempt to find treatments for patients; and that diseases can be ‘socially’ constructed as well as ‘corporately’ constructed by companies to create a profitable market of consumers. At the micro level of society, medicalization in the Western world has been influenced by liberal notions of individualization which has extended to some parts of the health sector. At the macro level, medicalization has been buoyed by the process of the professionalization, expansion of state monopoly over the health profession and religious and political social movements. Although some academics argue that the medicalization of society is less significant than the process of “de-medicalization”, there is clear evidence that the process of medicalization is intensifying and outstripping the rate