Case Study 2

Question 1

78 year old Georgina Smith is a retired cleaner. She is a heavy smoker, is obese and has angina and emphysema. Despite her obesity, angina and emphysema Georgina considers herself to be healthy. What is the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health (1948)?

Answer 1

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Question 2

Lay beliefs about health are influenced by a number of factors.
List four factors which may influence lay believes about health and give an example of how each of these factors may influence lay beliefs about health.

Answer 2

• Age - older people tend to concentrate on functional ability, younger people tend to speak of health in terms of physical strength and fitness
• Social class - people living in difficult economic and social circumstances regard health as functional (ability to be productive, take care of others), women of higher social class or educational qualifications have a more multidimensional view of health
• Gender - men and women appear to think about health differently (women may find the concept of health more interesting, women include a social aspect to health)
• Culture - different perceptions of illness/disease, differences in concordance with treatment

Question 3

List six actions the government could take to stem the rise in prevalence of obesity

Answer 3

• health education - diet and exercise
• tax on unhealthy foods - “fat tax”
• legislation - proper labelling, lists of ingredients/food content
• enforcement of legislation
• ban on advertising unhealthy food
• improve exercise/sports facilities
• subsidise healthy food
• transport policy e.g. cycle lanes
• funding of NHS treatment for obesity e.g. specialist clinics, bariatric surgery