Sick Role Model

In this essay, I intend to look into the power of the medical model in relation to people with physical and mental disability. I will look at the impact of medicalization on people with medical impairment as well as some key concepts in medical sociology (Gabe, J. and Elston, M. A.2004). I will then compare the medical model with the social model and consider the effect they have on professionalism and dependency and I will discuss the binaries in the medical and social model plus the political, cultural and economic impact in the society. I will discuss the limitations, policy, guidelines and legislations and how the medical model of disability can contribute to social exclusion, segregation and discrimination, and then look at how this depersonalize and deinstitutionalize people’s individuality and the impact on person-centred care, the infringement of people’s right on issues of confidentiality and autonomy. I explore the challenges of disability and access and the reconceptualising role of the ‘Medical Model’ in issues of disability and rehabilitation. In health sciences, good medical and clinical practices are based on moral and logical thinking. Although the medical model is learned by doctors in their original training and in theory, then brought and adapted to the field of mental health by psychiatrists that inform both mental

It is well evidenced that people who have both; history of drug use and disease which can be sexually transmitted such is HCV, are likely to experience stigma and discrimination in their life (Gilman 1999).Stigma and discrimination are socioeconomic factors which have a damaging health, social and financial consequences (Nursing Standard 2008). It is believed that those who are stigmatised and discriminated are more likely to have a lower income and due to this cannot afford to purchase better quality food, better housing, live in safer environments and have worse access to healthcare and education. Cinderella’s low socioeconomic status and negative social attitudes evidently put her physical and mental wellbeing at risk. Stigma and discrimination may relate to Social Symbolic Interaction Theory and in particular to the idea of labelling and its negative impact on people behaviour and self- concept (Miller J, Gibb S 2007). This would also fit with Carl Rodgers Person- Centred Theory and his idea of self- concept. Self –concept in other words is how we perceive and value our

The book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” is an interesting book that explores the distinctions in the perception of human conditions. An explanatory model of illness provides an opportunity to understand how people view their medical conditions (“Explanatory Illness,” n.d.). The explanatory model of illness provides a vantage point for healthcare professionals to understand an individual’s perception of his/her illness (“Explanatory Illness,” n.d.). The model seeks to explore the complex relationship between the physiological condition of an individual and the individual’s social and cultural background.

Furthermore, in this book, Frank argues that the modernist perception of disease is a structure of "colonization," which also means that the sick individual surrender his or her body, and the narrative of his or her life to biomedical skill. In a post-modern conception, the sick individuals will find the defense and strength to tell their own story, regain the expert and energy to recount his or her own story. It takes one to create a new lifestyle narrative from the

This report will be investigating the various sociological perspectives on health as well as the models and definitions of health and ill health. These topics will assist in the understanding of how different people and different cultures react to ill health.

Shunning and ignoring mental health patients comes under the umbrella of stigmatization. Recent interpretations of the term stigma have become somewhat confused and, at times, blur with those of social exclusion and discrimination (Jorm & Oh, 2009). To attempt to clarify the meaning of stigma, Goffman's seminal work is very useful. Goffman's (1963) monograph contributes to the potential lack of clarity by stating that stigma involves a combination of personal attributes and social stereotypes related to societal access to and endorsement of well-known "unacceptable" or "inferior" human characteristics. Technically therefore, a person may not be mentally ill, but others may attribute this condition to her or him, draw on entrenched stereotypes, and interact with the person in a manner arising from the observers'

In this essay I will analyse the concepts of health, disability, illness and behaviour in relation to users of health and social care services. I will take a look into how perceptions of specific needs have changed of time. I will also include the impact of legislation, social policy society and culture on the ways that services are made available to individuals with specific needs. This will include me analysing the needs of individuals with specific needs, explain the current system for supporting individuals with specific needs. I will also evaluate the services available in a chosen locality for individuals with specific needs.

The majority of people that have a severe mental illness are object to challenges in double measure. From one point of view, they wrestle with the symptoms and disablement that result from the illness. From another point, they are tested by the stereotypes and preconceived ideas that stem from the misunderstandings about mental illness. As a culmination of both, people with a mental illness are stripped of the chances that define a quality life such as a good job, safe housing, adequate health care, and a connection with a varied group of people. Although research has gone a long way to understand the affect of the disease, it only recently has begun to explain the stigma of mental illness (Corrigan). The lives of people who are living with a mental illness are many times drastically adjusted by the symptoms of the illness and everyone’s response to them. While symptoms can normally be diminished by a number of actions, the intrinsic stigma and prejudice that comes with mental illness may continue on for a lifetime and can manifest themselves in a number of understated and non-understated ways. Normally, when one thinks of a stigma, they think of disgrace that is associated with a particular event, circumstance, or occasion. People with a mental illness are most often branded as an effect of their behavior, appearance, therapy, their economic status, and also the negative depictions in the media of the mental illnesses. People with a mental illness often have a “stereotype

Mental illness and the stigma associated with it illustrate the concept of the sociological imagination. Living with a mental illness is a private trouble, affecting the individual personally, physically, psychologically, socially, and even economically. The trouble is made even more private in the respect that those with anxiety/depression/etcetera often suffer in silence since their affliction is not necessarily visible to others. The stigma associated with mental illness exacerbates the individual, while simultaneously lending itself to the public issues regarding mental illness.

This deals with confrontation of the illness and how they adapt, reveal and cope with the illness. With life threatening illnesses, it impacts the individual's viewpoint on life and in most cases causes the individual to only see the illness as their future. In other cases, people view the illness as a way to reform their identity and become the person they would like to be. People adapt to an illness based upon society’s definition of how it should be confronted and dealt with. The social construction of an illness is similar to the social construction of medical knowledge because it is the society’s take on the information. The social construction of medical knowledge is when the medical field gives information such as women should not drink when pregnant for it can affect their baby and in turn society contributes to this belief. For example, people tell women that they shouldn’t exercise to much or do anything that could somewhat put the mother in harm. This is because they do not want anything to affect the baby in her stomach. This is social construction of medical knowledge because it is the medical information and beliefs, stretched to society’s

Stigma can be defined as a mark of shame or ignominy that sets individuals apart from others. Goffman notes “Society establishes the means of categorizing persons and the complement of attributes felt to be ordinary and natural for members of each of these categories”. (Goffman) Given, when a person is labeled by said illness, disorder, or deviancy they are seen as a part of a stereotyped group and as a result are stigmatized by the “normals”. Moreover, the routines of social interactions in society allow us to create normative expectations and demands for the way ones in said society are expected to

Stigma can be expressed in various term, it can be a brand, labelling or identification. It is a differentiation of a person resulting to a boundary between “us” and “them” (Link and Phelan 2001). These affect consumers in a way they are discriminated and treated differently because they have mental illness. The effect of stigma can take away the rights of consumers who are suffering from mental illness causing social dilemmas (SANE Australia 2013). A survey shows 74% of consumers experience stigma from school, work, and social activities. Consumers had only one feedback, to reduce stigma so they can go with their life peacefully and engage in normal social activities without discrimination (SANE Australia 2006). It is

It is very obvious that people who suffer from mental illness are severely stigmatized by society for conditions that they cannot help but have. I believe both inequalities are a result of victims suffering from ‘sick roles’; a role in which a person explains an ill persons particular rights and responsibilities. Consequently, mental illness is a lifelong disorder many have to battle. Nevertheless, suffers are most often immediately placed into this role because of this. It is especially prominent when it comes to employers with a bias against the mentally ill; they immediately assume that patients suffering from neurological disorders renders themselves as helpless.

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).

The sick role theory is defined by the investigator Talcott Parsons in 1951, it is a method of clarifying the specific privileges and duties of persons that are being ill (Scarince, n. d). His idea was established on the concept that being sick is not a deliberate and knowing choice of the sick person. The sick person is considered different because he or she disturbs the social rules but he/she can’t help it. Parsons advises to sick person might be involved in the sick role in order to have their break of social duties agreed (Giddens, n. d).