Medicine and Health
Kelsea Toseki and Megan Muffly
Thesis
Medicine and healthcare are important issues that impact society both in the United States and around the world.
Definitions
Medicine One of the major
social institutions that sociologists study
A society’s organized ways of dealing with sickness and injury
Health A human condition
measured by the following components
Physical Mental Social Spiritual
*The definitions of health and illness vary from culture to culture, as do the components of health*
The Sick Role
4 Elements to the Sick Role1. Not held responsible
2. Exempt from normal responsibilities
3. Don’t like the role
4. Get competent help
The Sick Role
Sick role is controversial– are you sick or not?
Parents and physicians are primary gatekeepers
Gender differences Women are more
comfortable claiming sick role
Professionalization
Education becomes rigorous
Physicians claim a theoretical understanding of illness
Regulate themselves Claim to be doing a
service to society Take authority over
clients.
Monopoly
Controlling education and licensing
Fee-for-Service Makes medicine a
business Drive up price of
healthcare Government funded
healthcare Medicare and
Medicaid
Physical Health
Top 10 causes of death in the U.S., 2001
Types of Health
Physical Health Body’s fitness
Weight BMI Strength Endurance
Immune System
Mental Health Emotional and
Psychological well-being Deal with and recover
from difficult situations Stress
Confidence Human Interaction
Issues in Healthcare
Government provided healthcare
Social Inequality Malpractice Suits
Defensive medicine Medical Incompetence Depersonalization Conflict of Interest Medical Fraud Sexism Medically Assisted Suicide
Threats to Health
HIV/AIDS Globalization of
Disease Epidemics
Drugs Alcohol Nicotine
Disabling Environments Experiments
Alternatives
Treatment vs. Prevention Spend more money on
prevention? Global Perspective
Interview / Statistics
Universal Healthcare??
YesNo
Works Cited
Annandale, Ellen. "Book - Ellen Annandale - The Sociology of Health and Medicine." Welcome to Polity - leading international publisher in the social sciences and humanities - www.politybooks.com. 15 May 2009 http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=0745613578
“Balanced Politics.org – Universal Healy Care (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against).” BalancedPolitics.org – Free Balanced, Non-Partisan Discussion of Political & Social Issues for Debate (Pros and Cons – Decision Making Politics). 25 Mar. 2009. 13 May 2009 http://www.balancedpolitics.org/universal_health_care.htm.
Category. “The Mind and the Body are the Same Thing.” Mental Health – Information on Mental Health. 27 Nov. 2003. 13 May 2009 http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/mindandbody/a/mindbody.htm.
Henslin, James M.. Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (6th Edition). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2004.
"Introduction to Sociology/Health and Medicine - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks." Wikibooks. 9 May 2009. 11 May 2009 http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Sociology/Health_and_Medicine
Prosser, Brenton. "Emerging From the Shadow of Medicine - Health Sociology Review." Health Sociology Review - Health Sociology Review. 15 May 2009 http://hsr.e-contentmanagement.com/archives/vol/15/issue/5/article/119/emerging-from-the-shadow-of-medicine
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