SOC 102 Introduction to Social Problems Problems of Health and Healthcare

Flashcards of key vocabulary terms and definitions from lecture notes.

Health

A result of an individual’s genetic makeup, income and educational status, health behaviors, communities in which the individual lives, and the environments to which he or she is exposed.

Life expectancy disparities

Life expectancy at birth is highest for a child born in Japan (84 years) and lowest for one born in Sierra Leone (46 years).

Leading Causes of Death by Country Income Level, 2019

Respiratory infections, Alzheimer’s and other dementias, Malaria, Diabetes, Colon and rectum cancer, Diarrheal diseases, Stroke and other cerebrovascular disease, Tuberculosis, Preterm birth complications, HIV/AIDS, Ischemic heart disease

Non-communicable diseases

The UN officially recognized them as a major concern for global health in 2011. Of particular concern in the UN report are cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and respiratory diseases.

Four behavioral factors that exacerbate and/or give rise to non-communicable diseases

Tobacco use, alcohol, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD)

Heart and stroke account for one third of deaths worldwide.

Two social conditions contributing to poor health in the United States

Growing inequality and lifestyle problems.

Problems in the way we live

Sedentary occupations; fattening, nonnutritious foods; and lack of proper exercise.

Cultural Factors

Specific ways of life, beliefs, and norms of behavior that may contribute to health or illness.

Major health and social impacts of obesity

Increases the risk of illness from about thirty serous medical conditions; associated with increases in deaths from all causes; Earlier onset of obesity-related diseases; higher risk for impaired mobility; experience social stigmatization and discrimination

More money translates into a longer life

Wealth buys higher-quality medical care, which allows people to live into old age; Affluent tend to live in healthier ways

Three arguments about ethnoracial health disparities

Health Disparities are due to differences in socioeconomic status; Health disparities are due to unhealthy behaviors among people of color; Health disparities are due to unequal neighborhoods that constrain healthy choices for people of color.

Health disparities are due to unequal neighborhoods

Unequal neighborhoods and the historical forces that shaped their development better explain the ethnoracial health disparities than do individual- level factors such as health behaviors.

Structural-Functionalist Perspective on healthcare

Healthcare is a social institution that functions to maintain the well-being of societal members and, consequently, of the system as a whole.

Conflict Theory on healthcare

Socioeconomic status, power, and the profit motive influence illness and health care.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective on healthcare

Meanings, definitions, and labels influence health, illness, and health care.

Mental health

Psychological, emotional, and social well-being.

Mental Illness

All mental disorders, which are characterized by sustained patterns of mood (emotions), abnormal thinking, or behaviors that are accompanied by significant distress and/or impairment in daily functioning.

Untreated mental illness can lead to

Poor educational achievement, loss of productivity, unemployment, homelessness, poverty, failed relationships, violence and abuse, and incarceration.