Chapter 2: Physical and Mental Health and Health Care

1. Chapter 2:Physical and Mental Health and Health Care “The defense of this nation seeks involves a great deal more than building airplanes, ships, guns, and bombs. We cannot be a strong nation unless we are a healthy nation.” - President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1940

2. *The Global Context: Patterns of Health Worldwide • Countries are often classified into one of three broad categories according to their economic status: • Developed countries have relatively high gross national income and have economies made up of many different industries. • Developing countries (less developed) have relatively low gross national income and their economies are much simpler. • Least developed countries are the poorest countries of the world.

3. *The Global Context: Patterns of Health WorldwideMorbidity, Life Expectancy, and Mortality • Morbidity refers to illnesses, symptoms, and the impairments they produce. • In less developed countries, where poverty and chronic malnutrition are widespread, infectious and parasitic diseases, such as HIV disease, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases (caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites), measles, and malaria are much more prevalent. • In developed countries, chronic health problems such as cardiovascular disease and cancer are the major health threats.

4. *The Global Context: Patterns of Health WorldwideMorbidity, Life Expectancy, and Mortality • Life expectancy refers to the average number of years individuals born in a given year can expect to live. • Infant mortality - Number of deaths of live-born infants under 1 year of age.

5. *The Global Context: Patterns of Health WorldwideMorbidity, Life Expectancy, and Mortality • Mortality is simply defined as death. • The leading cause of mortality, or death, worldwide is heart disease…followed by stroke and respiratory infections. • In low income countries, the three top causes of death are respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, and HIV/AIDS. • The World Health Organization (2009) has identified high blood pressure as the leading global mortality risk factor (responsible for 13% of deaths globally), followed by tobacco use (9%), high blood glucose (6%), physical inactivity (6%), and obesity (5%).

7. *Sociological Theories of Illness and Health Care:Structural-Functionalist Perspective • According to the structural-functionalist perspective, healthcare is a social institution that functions to maintain the well-being of social members and, consequently, of the social system as a whole. • It examines how changes in society affect health. • It also draws attention to latent dysfunctions, or unintended and often unrecognized negative consequences, of social patterns or behaviors.

8. *Sociological Theories of Illness and Health Care:Conflict Perspective • The conflict perspective focuses on how wealth, status, and power influence illness and health care. • It points to ways in which powerful groups and wealthy corporations influence health-related policies and laws through lobbying and financial contributions to politicians and political candidates. • Criticizes the pharmaceutical and health care industry for placing profits above people.

9. *Sociological Theories of Illness and Health Care:Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Symbolic interactionists focus on the following: • How meanings, definitions, and labels influence health, illness, and health care. • How such meanings are learned through interaction with others and through media messages and portrayals.

10. *Sociological Theories of Illness and Health Care:Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Medicalization is defining or labeling behaviors and conditions as medical problems. • Includes: • A new phenomena defined as a medical problem in need of medical intervention such as post-traumatic stress disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. • Normal conditions that are defined as medical problems such as childbirth, menopause, and death.

11. *Sociological Theories of Illness and Health Care:Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Symbolic interactionists also focus on the stigmatization of individuals who are in poor health or who lack health insurance. • A stigma refers to any personal characteristic associated with social disgrace, rejection, or discrediting. • Symbolic interactionists focus on stigmatizing effects of being labeled “ill.” • Individuals with mental illnesses, drug addictions, physical deformities and impairments, and HIV and AIDS are prone to being stigmatized.

12. *The Growing Problem of Obesity • Obesity is a major problem throughout the industrialized world. In recent years, the prevalence of obesity in the United States has risen significantly. • 2/3 of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. • Researchers predict that obesity will shorten the average U.S. life expectancy by at least 2 to 5 years over the next 50 years; reversing the mostly steady increase in life expectancy that has occurred over the last 2 centuries.

13. Social Factors of Obesity • Technology • Physical Activity decreased • The Economy • Less time for the private sphere  more time at work, less time to exercise and sleep • Less money  more junk food and less healthy food *What does this say about our current lifestyle trends? Is work and money more important than health?

14. *What Do You Think? • In North Carolina, a mother whose 7-year-old son weighed more than 250 pounds reported that the local Division of Social Services threatened to take her child away if he did not lose weight. • Do you think severely obese children should be considered victims of child abuse? What should we do about this?

15. *What Do You Think? • Many states are passing laws that require school lunchrooms to provide healthier food options and that require snack and drink machines on school campuses to have healthier options as well. Do you think that laws like this are fair or do you think children should make their own food choices?

16. Clip Time!! • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2diPZOtty0

17. *Social Problem Research Up Close • The National College Health Assessment is a survey developed by the American College Health Association to assess the health status of college students across the country.

18. *Social Factors and Lifestyle BehaviorsGender and Health • In the United States today, the live expectancy of U.S. women (80.4 years) is greater than that of U.S. men (75.4 years). • The lower life expectancy in men is caused by several factors: • A more dangerous work environment • Men engage in riskier behavior

19. *Life Expectancy in the United States by Race and Sex

20. *Problems in U.S. Health Care • The World Health Organization (2000) did an analysis of the world’s health systems and found that, although the United States spends a higher portion of its GDP on health care than any other country, it ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance.

21. Clip Time!! • http://www.upworthy.com/his-first-4-sentences-are-interesting-the-5th-blew-my-mind-and-made-me-a-little-sick-2?g=3

22. *U.S. Federal Health Care Reform • Multiple presidential administrations have advocated health care for all Americans going all the way back to Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. • Health care reform efforts in the U.S. generally fall into 1 of 3 categories: • Creation of a public single-payer health program • Expansion of existing government health insurance programs • Making private insurance more affordable through tax credits or deductions and other means.

23. *U.S. Federal Health Care Reform • In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare,” was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. • Just a few of the many provisions of the recent health care reform legislation includes: • Establishing an “individual mandate” • Creating health insurance exchanges • Providing tax credits to business that provide insurance • Expanding Medicaid • Providing discounts on brand-name drugs and free preventative services

24. *What Do You Think? President Barack Obama signs the “Affordable Care Act” into law, March 2010

25. Class Activity • In groups of 3-6, answer the following questions… • 1. Create a policy aimed at keeping children more healthy. How can we achieve a healthier lifestyle for our children? What would you regulate? How would this policy get implemented? • 2. Discuss the three sociological perspectives on health. Which perspective do you favor, and why?