4a concepts of health and illness Flashcards
What are the 4 social sciences
- Psychology (Study of individual mental processes and behaviours)
- Sociology (study of social processes and interactions in societies, groups and institutions)
- Anthropology (study of cultures)
- History (study of past events)
what do the social sciences seek to understand
The social sciences seek to understand the attitudes, motivations and behaviours of human social behaviour and why these change over time
Why are the social sciences relevant to public health?
The social sciences can help explain:
- behaviour of individuals
- behaviour of groups within a population
- behaviour of healthcare organisations
Terminology in social sciences: what is epistemology and describe the epistemological spectrum
- epistemology is the study of knowledge. How we know things
-Contructivism and positivism are at opposite ends of the epistemological spectrum
CONSTRUCTIVISM
- there is not one knowable truth. Our understanding of the world is constructed by reflecting our own experiences
POSITIVISM
- there is one true reality and we can study that reality objectively
Terminology in social sciences: Theoretical perspective
- the philosophical stance that guides the research design and methodology
Terminology in social sciences: methodology
- the strategy behind the choice of methods to answer the study question
Terminology in social sciences: Ontology
- the study of the nature of existence and being. Ontology considers whether facts are constructed in people’s minds of whether they exist in the real world
Terminology in social sciences: Reflexivity
- this acknowledges that the process of observation effects the environment under study
Reflexivity is explicitly considered in research that takes a constructivist approach
What are the 3 major theoretical perspectives in sociology
- Structural functionalism
- Social conflict
- Interpretivism
Theoretical perspectives in sociology: structural functionalism
- views society as an objective reality
- society is a complex system whose parts work together to promote stability
- closely linked to the positivist epistemology
- Positivists believe the social world can be studied in the same way as the material world- hypothesis can be tested according to observable facts
Theoretical perspectives in sociology: Social conflict
-individuals within a society interact on the basis of conflict rather than consensus
- competition for resources and material production for wealth is the major goal for society
- the result is industrialisation and establishment of different social classes
- groups attain differing amounts of material and non-material resources and more powerful groups will tend to use their power to retain power and exploit groups with less power
Theoretical perspectives in sociology: interpretivist
- this perspective focuses in individual or small scale social interactions and how this influences the way that people interpret society subjectively
- labelling is an important aspect of this perspective
- eg a persons identity may be influenced by a label such as a diagnosis
- a related epistemological stance is constructivism
methods of studying human behaviour: Quantitative
- surveys
- questionnaires
- routine data sources
methods of studying human behaviour: Qualitative
- interviews
- focus groups
-ethnography (participant or non-participant observation) - case studies (multiple data collection methods to generate a picture of a bounded system (bounded by time and activity ie a GP surgery implementing a new system), can include qualitative and quantitative data.)
Define sickness
- term that covers both illness and disease
Define illness
- a persons subjective experience of mental or physical sensations or states
Define disease
- abnormality in form or function of an organ or body system that clinicians diagnose and treat
What is the ‘sick role’ and who first conceptualised the model
- because illness is itself a social role there is a notion that people who feel ill and those who care for them will behave in ways that are related to society’s implicit idea about what it means to be sick
- parsons described this as ‘the sick role’
- people who are ill have certain rights and responsibilities that work together in the interest of society
What are the rights and responsibilities of the sick role?
- these rights are all universal but all temporary
RIGHTS
-exemption from blame for being sick
- to be exempt for normal duties ie work
RESPONSIBILTIES
- to seek medical attention
-to want to get better
what are the strengths and weaknesses of the sick role model?
STRENGTHS
- applies well to acute infections (ie flu)
WEAKNESSES
Applies less well to diseases where:
- lifestyle choices have played a part in disease development (ie obesity, STIs)
- medical attention is not seen as helpful or necessary (ie cold/ D+V)
- exemption from normal duties (ie work) is not necessary (ie well controlled diabetes)
- people don’t see a need to ‘get better’ ie obesity
Doctor- patient relationship: give an example of when a doctor may face conflict between a patient’s best interest and society’s best interest
ie if a lorry driver was having black outs and didn’t want to stop driving as livelihood
Doctor- patient relationship: Describe features of doctor centred care (nomenclature, decision making, patients role, written communication, consultation style)
NOMENCLATURE
patient
DECISION MAKING RESPONSIBILTY
doctor-led
PATIENT’S ROLE
passive recipient of care
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
notes and correspondence are not shared with the patient
CONSULTATION STYLE
active (doctor)/ passive (patient)
Doctor- patient relationship: Describe features of patient centred care (nomenclature, decision making, patients role, written communication, consultation style)
NOMENCLATURE
patient, expert, consumer
DECISION MAKING RESPONSIBILTY
shared
PATIENT’S ROLE
self care, active monitoring of disease, source of expertise
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Notes freely available to patient and letters CC’d to patient
CONSULTATION STYLE
listening, reflecting, probing, silence, facilitating, interpreting
What is the WHO 1948 definition of health
’ a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely an absence of disease or infirmity’
what are the strengths and weakness of the WHO 1948 definition of health
STRENGTHS
1. explicitly links health and wellbeing
2. simple, widespread appeal across cultures
3. influential in shaping health policy beyond disease
4. conceptualisations health as a human right that requires physical and social resources
WEAKNESSES
1. not objective or measurable
2. leaves most of us as ‘unhealthy’ most of the time
3. contributes to the medicalisation of society
what is Canguilhem’s definition of health 1943
’ the ability to adapt to one’s environment’
What are the strengths and weaknesses of Canguilhem’s definition of health
STRENGTHS
1. Allows people to determine their own health needs
2. more appropriate for the current public health burden of chronic disease
WEAKNESSESS
1. very individualistic, ignores the socio-political environment in which people are embed
- little scope to promote health as a human right
How do different people define wellbeing
- the well being institute
’ positive sustainable characteristics which enable individuals and organisations to thrive and flourish’
- others argue that wellbeing is a social and cultural construct
what is deviance and who first described it
- first described by becker
- behaviour that is seen as being unacceptable within a particular culture
how is deviance linked to labelling theory
- people who deviate form the normal are labelled as being abnormal on some way
- what is unacceptable in one culture might be normal in the next
- on being recognised as deviant behaviour might be subject to:
1. punishment
2. sanctions
3. correction
4. treatment
how is deviance linked to the sick role and who linked the two?
- Parsons
- Considered illness as a form of deviance where the doctor is the agent of social control (ie the doctor restricts access to the sick role by labelling people as either sick or healthy)
ie with the use of illicit drugs, this deviant behaviour can either be punished through criminal justice and detention or through drug rehabilitation requirements. These explicitly link the deviant behaviour to the sick role and requirement s to undergo treatment