Health
Uploaded by
Awais JavedHealth
Uploaded by
Awais JavedHealth, well-being, aging and care
http://www.who.int/topics/en/
Defining health
Health can be defined as both an objective and a subjective phenomenon.
In objective terms, health is the normal functioning of biological entities
assessed via the measurement of physical bodies, organs or systems.
Example: Body mass index (BMI) measurements and blood pressure rates.
Within a traditional medical view, health is simply the absence of disease
from a normal, functioning body as determined by medical experts.
In subjective terms, health is affected by one’s age, gender and social
class. Example: Seeing health as ‘eating the right things’ and ‘being fit’.
Health isn’t just a purely physical state but also links to our social
surroundings.
Social and environmental correlates of
Health
The Constitution of WHO (1946) states
that good health is:
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity (physical or mental weakness)
To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, an
individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to
satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment.
Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the
objective of living.
Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as
well as physical capacities.
The bio-medical model of
health
Disease is an organic condition – biological factors are the
most important things to be considered in terms of health or
illness.
Disease is a temporary organic condition that can be cured
with medicine.
Disease is treated after symptoms appear – the application of
medicine is reactive.
Disease is treated in a ‘medical environment’ – a hospital, for
example.
The social model of health
Imagining health problems as social issues:
http://bit.ly/1MaRdDe
Illness as socially produced (exposure to hazardous work
practices, an unequal social distribution of health)
The social construction of health and illness (how cultural beliefs,
social practices, and social institutions shape, or construct, the
ways in which health and illness are understood)
The social organisation of health care concerns the way a
particular society organises, funds, and utilises its health services.
Sociology of health: Major
concerns
Social structure and health: Class, time, and biography
Social and cultural aspects of health, well-being, care and aging
Social patterns and structures and causes of health inequalities
Variations in the diet of different socioeconomic groups
Social perceptions of health and illness
Professional interactions in healthcare
Social construction of illness and wellness
Health, ageing and the life course (Inequalities across the life course)
Globalization and health
The ethics and business of caring: postmodern reflections
Source: Social determinants of health
and disease: http://bit.ly/1NOL0iB
Case study - 1
Death by pollution: http://cnnmon.ie/1STv9CY
Death by breath: http://bit.ly/2gKbcSY
Health care: The functionalist view
The positive functions of the health care system are the prevention and
treatment of disease
Greater access of the medical/health care is good for the society (functional)
Health care system work with government and other agencies on the
regulation of new drugs and procedures
And governments are involved in health care through scientific institutions
that funds new research
As a social institution, health care is also the largest employers which is tied
to systems of work and the economy
Health care: The conflict
theory view
Conflict theory stresses the importance of social structural inequality in society.
The unequal access to medical care.
Minorities, the poor, working class, the elderly, elderly women have less access to the health
care system
Conflict theorists are especially critical of the corporate control of health care and associate
the drive for corporate profits with the rising costs of health care
Conflict theorists would also examine inequality within health care employment patterns.
Health care institutions employ some of the highest paid professionals, but they are also
workplaces where various service workers (such as nurses) are lesser paid occupations
Inequalities in healthcare: Research show that standards of health and rates of life
expectancy are distributed along divisions of class, ethnicity, location, and gender
Social class and health care
The higher one’s social class, the longer one will live (Jacobs and
Morone 2004).
Poor living conditions, pollution in low-income neighborhoods, lack of
access to health care facilities contribute to the high rate of disease
among lower social classes
Stress caused by financial troubles - Research has shown correlations
between psychological stress and physical illness. The poor are more
subject to psychological stress.
Medical emergency can rapidly deplete a family’s finances and leave
even relatively well-off families with huge medical bills and depleted
financial margins.
Unequal distribution of health
care (Geographic location)
Medical facilities, care centres and hospitals
are mainly concentrated in urban areas
Those located in remote rural areas remain
deprived of the medical and health care
facilities and most importantly emergency
services
Gender and health care
On average, women tend to receive a lesser
quality of health care than men, even though
they tend to utilize the health care system
more
Health, well being and care
Post-modern perspective
Low death rate, low birth rate and slow population growth
Less emphasis on public health
Enhanced medicine
Mental illness, stress and depression
Diet, fitness and health (service sector)
Medicine, beauty, cosmetics
Surgical fix and face-lift
Self-inflicted illness and non-diseases
Smoking causing cancer
Aging, work and baldness
Health, well being and care
Post-modern perspective
Internet and the consumption of health care
Medical tourism
Borderless diseases – new forms of flue/ebola
Impact of war on health
Self-inflicted illness and non-diseases- smoking causing
cancer
Should governments (public health) pay to cure/treat cancer
patients?
Discussion
Sociological analysis (macro and micro) of
obesity
Case study - 2
Fat city: the obesity crisis that threatens to
overwhelm Mexico's capital: http://bit.ly/1NumvTb
Obesity rises in a country where
millions remain malnourished: http://
huff.to/2glrZYH
Sociological perspectives on
aging
The world population is rapidly ageing
By 2050 world's population over 60 years is expected to
increase from 605 million to 2 billion
Low- and middle-income countries will experience the
most rapid and dramatic demographic change
Globally, many older people are at risk of maltreatment
The need for long-term care is rising
Sociological perspectives on
aging
Modernization theory: Modern societies (think big cities and suburbs, Wal-Mart,
computers) have led to a more peripheral position for older adults in society
With a move to city living, there is less space in the children’s homes, and the
extended family living structure has broken down
Social stratification theory and aging: The extent to which societies are
segregated by age
Political economy of aging: How social and economic structures maintain
negative life circumstances for older people
Well-being
OECD Health
Indicators
http://bit.ly/1WBjzhW
OECD Well being
Indicators
http://bit.ly/1PF6yhx
Creating a caring society
http://bit.ly/1MrqcZZ
Defining Care
Care as a practice (caring about)
Care as an activity (caring for)
Caring about engages thought and feeling including awareness. Concern
about and feelings of responsibility for meeting another's needs
Caring for refers to the varied activities of providing for the needs or well-
being of another person
These activities include physical care (e.g., bathing, feeding), emotional
care (e.g., reassuring, sympathetic listening) and direct services
Socialization and care
Service sector and the overemphasis on Care
Health care professionals workers
Compassionate, care-focused and patient-orientated
Hands-on care versus lack of care or neglect