Download Sociology of Health

Introduction
When we think about health we tend to think about it in purely
physical or biological terms.
 However, health is also a major social issue due to the fact that
many of the causes of illness are directly affected by social
factors.
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Essay title - Appraise the sociological factors that influence health
and well-being. Give reasons why the factors may impact on
perceptions and responses to health and welfare issues relevant to
a specific social issue of your choice.
Discuss with the person sitting next to you, what images does the
word ‘health’ summon up for you?
 How would you define ‘health?
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Health is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as
being ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing'.
 The Definition has not been amended since 1948.
 This definition confirmed health as a social issue and this is borne
out by evidence which demonstrates that standards of health have
varied over time and also from one society, culture and country to
another.
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This model is based on the idea that people’s health, in affluent societies,
reflects science’s understanding of disease, the human body, and, the
development and availability of effective treatments.
In this model:
Diseases have specific causes
Health is the absence of biological abnormality
The mind and body can be treated separately
The human body is like a machine and can be restored to health
by the use of personalised treatments that halt or reverse the
process of disease.
 The health of a society mostly depends on the level of medical
knowledge and, the availability of medical resources.
 Trained medical specialists are considered to be the only experts
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 Critics
suggest that the dramatic decline in death rate
from the middle of the nineteenth century until the
present day can be linked to public health reforms,
better nutrition making people stronger and better able
to fight off infection, greater use of contraception and
improved personal hygiene.
McKeown (1976) suggested that clinical medicine has an important
but limited part to play in improving health.
 Other critics went further stating that the preoccupation of
modern medicine with technology and drug based treatments is
‘iatrogenic’, that is, medically caused disease, for example,
infections acquired in hospital, medical accidents, adverse
reactions to drugs, etc.
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Sociologists also show that society is an important influence on
health and illness
 Learning about society tells us about health, and learning about
health tells us about society (Wilkinson 1996)
 Health is ultimately determined by position within the social
structure – society determines health in many ways
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