The Waiting Room Sociology

Naidoo and Wills(2001, p.47) “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ - WHO (1946).” This definition falls into a holistic way of defining health, which believes that there are more areas to look at when thinking of health than just simply the absence of a disease. It considers the cause of why someone is ill and not just simply about ’fixing it’.

But over the past few decades, the definititon and concept of health has evolved to encompass more elements than just the physical well-being of a person. This is partly attributed to various researches and studies that have taken place around the world in the last 60 years. Already in 1948, the World Health Organization declared that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not

Within this assignment I am going to explore the sociological perspectives of Marxism and Functionalism and a brief view on interactionism in relation to health and inequalities in health. I will explore sociological explanations for these inequalities focusing on structural materialist, artefact, social selection and cultural explanations.

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organisation, 2011)

Sociology: Some guiding principles Social exploration of health – Group & individual experiences – Unique, individual factors of health/illness BUT also shared, social  factors Medical knowledge, practice, & technology  – Often constructed as THE TRUTH, without reference to the historical  and cultural development of medicine ‐ sociology critiques what is  meant by TRUTH. Health is socially shaped – What is means to be healthy or ill shifts between generations and  within generations; across cultures and within cultures 3 2/17/2016 Identifying a sociological approach Key features of a sociological approach:   Social distribution and production of health patterns of health and illness eg gender, class, age Social construction of health defining and meanings of health and illness Social organisation of health social processes to manage health and illness eg power; which health services receive funding priority etc., ‘who does what and to whom’

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

Firstly, looking at the positive definition of health, it is a positive concept, highlighting social and personal resources together with physical capacities. According to the World

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.

“Don’t treat the disease, treat the patient” [9]. The concept of health has seemed to become complex in definition over the centuries as science improves. “Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”-World Health Definition of Health (1948) [9]

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 World Health Organisation defined health: “State of complete physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (WHO, 1946 p.100). Many factors influence health such as family traits, behaviours, access to quality healthcare and environment (quality of air, bad/good water and housing conditions) (WHO, 1946). The holistic view of health combines the mind (mental), body (physical), emotional and spiritual elements to a person (Ewes & Simnett, 2003).

The UK social class system is easily seen through education; upper class people send their children to expensive private schools whereas lower class or people in poverty send their children to public schools (if any school) that are free. The private schools of the UK are known to have “better” education then the public schools simply because they have more financing. They have teachers educated to a higher standard, bigger facilities and most importantly statistics show students are more likely to achieve higher grades the n a public school. Impact of education on health says “Education impacts on health in two ways; firstly, through teaching that enables children to learn specifically about health (often known as skills-based health education) and secondly through the educational process as a whole which provides skills such as critical thinking and making choices that enable children to opt for healthy lifestyles.” (Impact of education on health, 2012). Therefore, the higher social class and better educated a person is, the healthier they will

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948.)

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.

”Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (WHO, 1948) Wellness