Explain different sociological approaches to health and ill-health

1. Explain different sociological approaches to health and ill-health Lesson 2 P2

2. What is health? • What is ill-health?

3. Functionalists • Society needs a healthy population to function well • Illness is a form of deviance • When ill, an individual performs a ‘sick role’ • A sick role comes with it’s own rights and responsibilities

4. RIGHTS include being exempt from normal activities and obligations and the right to be cared for by others • RESPONSIBILITIES include taking steps to get better and re-join society asap and to cooperate with the medical profession

5. MARXISTS • The definition of health and illness serve the interests of the powerful • Doctors are agents working in the interests of employers • Their role is to provide the company with a healthy workforce • In a capitalist society, profit is made from products which are bad for our health e.g. tobacco, alcohol, junk food

6. Levels of illness are closely related to a person’s social class • Higher levels of illness and lower life expectancy occur in areas of poverty, unemployment and environmental pollution

7. FEMINISTS • Focus on male domination in the medical profession and it’s impact on women • Argue that a natural process such as pregnancy and childbirth have been medicalised

8. High number of women suffer from anxiety, depression and mental illness which are defined as medical problems, rather than a consequence of women's’ exploited position in the family • ‘double day’ - Doyal, • ‘triple shift’ - Dunscombe and Marsden

9. INTERACTIONISTS • Focus on the process involved in becoming defined as ‘ill’ • This definition will vary from person to person • Interested in the negotiation between the professional and the patient • Therefore, illness is a social construction • Focus on the self-image of a person when labelled as ‘ill’ • BUT ignore the ‘real’ causes of ill-health such as poverty, environment

10. What is HEALTH? • Health comes for the word ‘hael’ or WHOLE • There are 2 definitions of health • NEGATIVE – absence of illness/disease linked to the medical profession. • When’s the last time you visited the Dr. and why?

11. POSITIVE – holistic approach to health refers to a ‘state of wellbeing’. • WHO definition of health ‘ emphasises social/personal resources as well as physical capabilities’

12. What is ill-health?ILLNESS - • Illness is SUBJECTIVELY perceived (vary from one person to the other) • Age differences – what is ‘normal’ to a young adult and an elderly person? • Gender differences – men less likely to define themselves as ‘ill’ • Class differences – working class more likely to accept higher levels of ‘illness’ than middle class

13. What is ill-health?DISEASE - • Diseases are clinical conditions defined by medical professionals • Eg.????

14. WHAT IS ILL-HEALTH?IMPAIRMENT and DISABILITY • Impairment refers to restrictions on day-to-day activity caused by a physical or mental dysfunction or abnormality • Eg. Loss of limb, a sensory impairment or a learning difficulty • A disability refers to the restrictions that arise for a person with an impairment because of the attitudes of others and a lack of appropriate services to meet their needs • Eg. Physical – no ramps into buildings, doorways too narrow

15. Assignment 7.1 P2 Tips • In order to achieve P2, you will need to create a PPT presentation which will provide insight into the concept of health and ill health which you will be presentation to fellow sociology students. • You will need to initially provide a definition of the following key terms with examples: • Health (negative), • Health (positive), • Ill health, • Disease, • Illness, • Impairment, • Disability.

16. Assignment 7.1 P2 Tips • You will then need to provides an explanation of the following perspective view of health and ill health using examples: • Functionalism, • Marxism, • Feminism, • Interactionism