Sociological Perspectives And Trends Of Health And Illness

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’

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

Merit 2 – 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

People in the higher class tend to have a better living standards and to have a higher quality of life and health compared to those in the lower class, this is the patterns between social class. The black reports found out that the lower class tend to be the ones who end up with the most diseases such as cancer, bronchitis and diabetes. This is because the lower class had a poorer diet and they lack exercise also they are mostly alcoholic and smokers which generally lead to poor life styles. The higher class have better diets and better exercise which means they are more healthier and physically fit.

In this essay I am going to talk the patterns and trends of health and ill health among different social groupings. I will talk about each pattern and trend in its own paragraph, Social class, Gender, Ethnicity, Age and Geographical location. I will talk about the links between these to health issues. I will back these up through the use of evidence such as statistics. I will then conclude what I have found out. Firstly I will talk about each pattern and trend.

Social determinants of health encompasses ethnicity, gender and social class. It is seen as the essential

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.

Why are higher income and social status associated with better health? If it were just a matter of the poorest and lowest status groups having poor health, the explanation could be things like poor living conditions. But the effect occurs all across the socio-economic spectrum. Considerable research indicates that the degree of control people have over life circumstances,

classes are perhaps not as clear as they used to be. But it is just as

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.

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.

Explain patterned inequalities in health and illness. Evaluate sources of evidence with regards to class, gender, ethnicity and age

The report gives a clear analysis of how inequality runs from the richest to the poorest. Using the RGSC’s scales one of the reports most famous findings was that a child of an unskilled manual worker would die 7 years earlier than a child born to professional parents. (Macionis & Plummer, 2005). Other findings were that people in class V were more likely to die of conditions like heart disease, cancer or stroke than those in class IV. It was evident that people in class I had a longer life expectancy, better health with lower death rates. (O’Donnell, 2005). The Black Report look at four main reasons which may explain the inequalities in health:-

On the other hand, health of a person does heavily depend on the traits of the society including standard of living and inequalities. In other words, not only one’s health will affect society but social issues have impact on individuals’ health too. In this essay, I will be focusing on how one’s health problems interrelate with the society.