5.1 Sociological Approaches to Chronic Illness Flashcards
What is a chronic illness?
A long-term condition which has a profound effect on a person’s life. They can be controlled but not cured
Describe a sociological approach to chronic illness
Focussing on how chronic illnesses impacts on social interaction and role performance.
What is an illness narrative?
The story-telling and accounting practices that occur in the face of illness
What is illness work?
The social and psychological effort needed to cope with uncertainty before getting a diagnosis.
The additional work needed to manage symptoms in the long-term to maintain optimum health.
Give 3 positives of the Expert Patient Programme
Learn coping and condition management skills
Reduces hospital admissions
Patient-centered
Give 2 negatives of the Expert Patient Programme
Responsibility is placed on the ill patients
Little understanding of the efficiency savings
What is everyday life work?
Coping and strategic management
What is coping?
The cognitive process involved in dealing with illness
What is meant by ‘strategy’ with regard to everyday life work?
The actions and processes involved in managing the condition and its impact
What is meant by ‘normalisation’ of a condition?
Try to keep pre-illness lifestyle and identity OR redesignate your illness life as your ‘normal’ life.
What is meant by ‘emotional work’?
Work to protect the emotional well-being of others. Have to consciously do normal activities to seem normal. Downplay symptoms to friends and family who worry.
What is ‘biographical work’?
Former self-image and view of the future is altered dramatically and another view of the future is not yet developed. Have to work to remain positive and try to see a future for themselves
What is ‘identity work’?
Some conditions carry public connotations. This affects how people see themselves and how others see them. Their illness can become their identity.
What is stigma?
Negatively defined condition, attribute, trait or behaviour conferring ‘deviant’ status
What is discreditable stigma?
Nothing physically seen but when people find out the person is treated differently eg. mental health
What is discredited stigma?
Physically visible characteristic or well-known stigma which sets the patient apart from society
What is enacted stigma?
Real experience of prejudice
What is felt stigma?
Fear of enacted stigma. Feeling of shame about condition
What is the medical definition of disability?
A deviation from the medical norm. Disability is due to a direct consequence of the condition and the patient needs medical help to cure the disability.
What is the socal definition of disability?
Problems are a product of the environment and a failure of the environment to adjust. Disability is a form of social oppression. Political and social action is needed to cure disability.
Give 2 disadvantages of the social definition of disability
Overly drawn view of society
Body is left out
Give 2 disadvantages of the medical definition of disability
Lack of recognition of social factors
Uses stigmatising language
What is the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities or Handicaps (ICIDH)?
Classification system to try and classify the consequences of a disease. It works on the basis that a disease leads to an impairment which leads to a disability and therefore a handicap
Give 2 disadvantages of the ICIDH
It implies that disabilities are inevitable from a disease
‘Handicapped’ is no longer a politically correct term
The relationship between the severity of the condition and the severity of the handicap is not made clear.
What is the International Classification of Functions, Disability and Health (ICF)?
WHO’s framework for measuring disability at a personal and population level. Tries to combine social and medical definitions.
What is the ICF model based on?
Body impairment
Limitation of activities
Restriction of social participation
