SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS
This study is based on a newspaper article about obesity and how the National Health Service (NHS) will offer free cookery classes in war on the obesity crisis to overweight and obese families as well as doctors and nurses (Donnelly, 2015). The World Health Organisation (2015) has classed obesity as a worldwide epidemic that has seen numbers double since the 1980’s. The WHO (2015) define obesity as an individual having a Body Mass Index equal or higher than 30 and has been linked to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, muscoskeletal and some cancers.
There are many views on what sociology is and therefore can be defined in many ways; Giddens and Sutton (2010) define sociology as study
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The report identifies that obesity is now a health pandemic in the United Kingdom and the National Health Service is taking steps to tackle obesity not only with the nation at large but also among the healthcare workers who have to help the government tackle obesity in the community seeing as they are the front line staff who would be responsible for educating the public on losing weight. Mooney et al (2015) further states that the functionalist perspective also focuses on how society is interconnected and how each part of society influences and in turn is influenced by the other parts. The doctors and nurses influence the patients they come in contact with and the rationale for the scheme in regards to the staff is that they should “practice what they preach” before they challenge the public’s unhealthy lifestyles.
According to McIntosh (1996) functionalist view social problems in a diverse number of ways and argue that inequalities are normal and necessary for social systems and for the functioning of social systems there has to be a division of labour therefore there will be individuals from varying educational backgrounds as well as skill backgrounds. In the report the problem identified was obesity which not only
This assignment will focus on the effects of health promotion within the public sector and how obesity is being tackled amongst health professionals by promoting healthy lifestyles, and reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of obesity related diseases. Using Maryon-Davis’ Obesity Model to systematically review the literature and furthermore evaluate the nurse’s role in promoting the highlighted issue, with any future proposals to improve practice between nurses.
Sociology is very hard to give one definition to, as it is a century old and contains methodical approaches and theoretical approaches. One way to look at sociology is to look at people and how they are affected by society and how society affects them. Also, how they are associated by institutions, groups and societies. Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline. Emerged in the 19th Century as people were starting to challenge modernity. The world was advancing, and people were becoming aware of different societies. Sociologists realised that they needed to find out how different groups held themselves together and possible solutions to social solidarity. Sociology was coined by a man called Auguste Comte and is little more than historical interest. (Piero, 2016) He wanted to show that sociology was important and that it could improve a society and direct human activity, and this was developed to remedy the social malaise of the French revolution calling for new social doctrine based on sciences.(Ritzer,2003) .Other classical theorists of this time were Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim. Their historical context has had continued importance and their ideas have been used throughout history. “People were using science instead of religion to understand the world” (Giddens, 2006). Emile Durkheim had more of a lasting impact than Comte although Durkheim used a
Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduce life expectancy and/or increased health problems. “The problem of obesity is increasing in the United States. Understanding the impact of social inequalities on health has become a public health priority in the new millennium. Social, political, and economic factors now are acknowledged to be "fundamental" causes of disease that affect behavior, beliefs, and biology.” (Goodman, 2003) In the United States today, obesity has become an enormous problem. In the last 3 decades, the number of people overweight has increased dramatically. Obesity has not always been seen as a medical
Obesity continues as a deadly epidemic that involves people that continually overeat in which causes weight gain that has affected all people around the world. During the last few decade obesity has doubled and threatened people's health in adverse habits of overeating. With the progress of technology, fewer people do manual labor; they work longer hours sitting down and eating too much of unhealthy foods. How obesity affects our community health and economic cost, taking the steps, to prevent obesity, and then the sociology functionalism theory relates to the problem of obesity in the United States and the world.
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010), Sociology is referred to as “.the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings” (para. 1); however, the transformable qualities of this science are not represented by this definition, as they should be. To best understand these changes, we must first consider changes within people as study objects; for as previously stated, Sociology changes in ways which are commensurate to changes in the world around it.
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
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.
Nearly a third of adult Americans are obese (NCHS 2003). The occurrence of obesity in the United States’ adult population has more than doubled in the last 25 years, from about 15 percent in 1976 to more than 30 percent in 2000. Since obesity in the US has reached epidemic levels, it is important to understand as many aspects of the social determinants of this disease as possible. Obesity is not a standalone disorder; rather it has caused increases in increasing risks of disability, related diseases, and death as well as important and burdensome increases in the cost of health care (Allison, Zannolli, and Narayan 1999; Wang et al. 2003). Further, obesity is estimated as contributing to almost 15 percept of deaths in the US each year (Allison and Fontaine et al. 1999; McGinnis and Forge 1993; Rogers, Hummer, and Krueger 2003; Sturm 2002).
The prevalence of obesity in England rose from 14.9% to 25.6% between 1993 and 2014 and the trend is still increasing (Public Health England, 2016a). Furthermore, World Health Organization [WHO] (2016a) recognise obesity as a public health issue. Public health is about helping the population to stay healthy and protecting them from health threats (Department of Health [DH], 2016a). It is about preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through society (Detels, Gulliford, Abdool Karim & Chuan Tan, 2015). Obesity is the contemporary public health issue that is to be explored throughout this assignment. Epidemiology will justify the reasoning as to why obesity is a public health issue. A health promotion initiative designed
The sociological aspect of obesity shown through the impact of families, the government and the economy. The rapidly growing, fast-paced, technological society creates an epidemic of sorts. Families pursue the use of technology, restaurants and fast-paced eating as well as single parenting and parental denial. The government sets a significant health care cost to obesity, which prevents a solution and increases risks. A non-stable economy brings about a society filled with unemployment or multiple jobs as well as both parents working to stay above absolute or relative poverty leading to distractions from a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a concern, not just for an individual but also for
As Nurses, we often ask ourselves what more can we do than is currently being done to improve the health of our clients not only in an individual sense but as a community. We are required by the scope and standards of nursing to ask ourselves this type of question by virtue of our profession and indeed is a baccalaureate nurse essential as well. We are in a unique position as nurses to have the most interaction with the community of patients we serve, and we often see the issues that affect the communities we serve more readily. One such issue that is undeniably
Health is defined based on three dimensions: physical, mental and social health; a fairly recent modification from the 18th century viewpoints (Ware,1987). Health is perceived differently according to the different models of health that help in guiding and understanding of health and health issues. In relation to the following essay, two models; biomedical model and social model will be discussed and compared in terms of their relevancy in the modern times. The second half of the essay will focus on the effectiveness of the social model in explaining the increasing prevalence of health conditions related to the obesity epidemic.
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.
In the example of Obesity, an individual’s obesity can be wrongly viewed as their own personal trouble but when viewed at a broader spectrum, it is noted that there is a variety of social issues involved which transforms it from a personal trouble to a social phenomenon. In addition to Mills’ ideas, there has been a significant amount of research which suggests obesity is a social phenomenon.