Sociology; Health and Sickness
Health vs. Sickness ¬_¬
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.
Not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Our bodies are social objects
Health and sickness are social constructs
Our odds for health and sickness are social experiences and social location
Society shapes health U_U
What is healthy?
Health changes over time and place
Technology and health
Social inequality
The Social Construction of Health and Illness (✿◡‿◡)
Medicalization;
Used to be seen as personal problems
Redefined as medical issues
Changes;
Meaning of condition
Meaning of the suffering individual
Theoretical Perspective
Functionalism - disease is a threat to social order
Conflict- Health and health care are unequally distributed
Symbolic Interactionism- The meaning of health and illness are context-dependent
Social Inequality, Health, and Illness
Dimensions of inequality
Class;
Socioeconomic status (SES)
11/16/23
Deprivation amplification occurs when the risks we already have because of our background or heredity are amplified by social factors
Food Deserts; poor, urban neighborhoods without grocery stores
Medicine as a Social Institution
The American Medical Association, through it’s standards and regulations;
transmits norms and values of medicine and medical knowledge
Regualtes, licenses, and legitimizes practitioners.
Polices itself and encroachment on power
AMA controls;
Medical school admissions
Medical school curriculum
Medical licensure
Access to doctors trained abroad
Specialization and “privileges”
Doctor-Patient Relations
Influenced by the structure of the institution
Interaction is what gives doctors status and power
• Norms of the situation emerge from the way we behave.
• Social scripts
• Just try asking "why?"
• Or seeking a second opinion!
Sick Role
• Actions and attitudes expected from someone who is ill
• Sick Role & Our Big 3:
• Functionalism
• Conflict theory
• Symbolic interactionism
Population ; demography
Study of the size competition distribution and changes in human population
Three basic demographic variables ;
fertility rate, migration and mortality
General fertility rate
Average number of births per 1,000 people in the population
55.5( United States, Q2 2023)
CDC reports per 1,000 women aged 15-44
Total fertility rate
. An average number of children a woman would be expected to have during her childbearing years
. 1.78( US, 2023 ). 2.1 !!!!!!
Mortality
Mortality rates: average number of deaths per 1,000 people in the population ( heart disease, cancer, accidental injury, COVID-19)
Life expectancy; the average age to which a person can expect to live
Migration
movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling
-Internal migration ( one state to another )
-Net migration = immigration- emigration
11/30/23
Health vs. Sickness ¬_¬
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.
Not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Our bodies are social objects
Health and sickness are social constructs
Our odds for health and sickness are social experiences and social location
Society shapes health U_U
What is healthy?
Health changes over time and place
Technology and health
Social inequality
The Social Construction of Health and Illness (✿◡‿◡)
Medicalization;
Used to be seen as personal problems
Redefined as medical issues
Changes;
Meaning of condition
Meaning of the suffering individual
Theoretical Perspective
Functionalism - disease is a threat to social order
Conflict- Health and health care are unequally distributed
Symbolic Interactionism- The meaning of health and illness are context-dependent
Social Inequality, Health, and Illness
Dimensions of inequality
Class;
Socioeconomic status (SES)
11/16/23
Deprivation amplification occurs when the risks we already have because of our background or heredity are amplified by social factors
Food Deserts; poor, urban neighborhoods without grocery stores
Medicine as a Social Institution
The American Medical Association, through it’s standards and regulations;
transmits norms and values of medicine and medical knowledge
Regualtes, licenses, and legitimizes practitioners.
Polices itself and encroachment on power
AMA controls;
Medical school admissions
Medical school curriculum
Medical licensure
Access to doctors trained abroad
Specialization and “privileges”
Doctor-Patient Relations
Influenced by the structure of the institution
Interaction is what gives doctors status and power
• Norms of the situation emerge from the way we behave.
• Social scripts
• Just try asking "why?"
• Or seeking a second opinion!
Sick Role
• Actions and attitudes expected from someone who is ill
• Sick Role & Our Big 3:
• Functionalism
• Conflict theory
• Symbolic interactionism
Population ; demography
Study of the size competition distribution and changes in human population
Three basic demographic variables ;
fertility rate, migration and mortality
General fertility rate
Average number of births per 1,000 people in the population
55.5( United States, Q2 2023)
CDC reports per 1,000 women aged 15-44
Total fertility rate
. An average number of children a woman would be expected to have during her childbearing years
. 1.78( US, 2023 ). 2.1 !!!!!!
Mortality
Mortality rates: average number of deaths per 1,000 people in the population ( heart disease, cancer, accidental injury, COVID-19)
Life expectancy; the average age to which a person can expect to live
Migration
movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling
-Internal migration ( one state to another )
-Net migration = immigration- emigration
11/30/23
