CH 10 Health, Illness, and Disability in Canada (QUESTIONS) Flashcards
Measuring physical health tends to follow what model?
Biomedical model
Mental health is often ______ and hard to ______
- Invisible
- Identify
Some advocate for refocusing health around _____ and ______
- Resilience
- Adaptability
What are the 2 measures of health?
- Objective
- Subjective
Name objective measures to health (2)
- Biomedical
- Standardized approach
e.g., drawing blood sample
Name subjective measures to health (2)
- Personal experiences
- Opinions of individuals
e.g., asking patient to rate their own health
In regards to health, what are epidemiologists interested in studying?
- Distribution and determinants of health and diseases in a population to better control or prevent illnesses
- Measures like morbidity and life expectancy
People’s ______ are more complex than physical symptoms and diagnoses
Lived experiences
Notions of social well-being are _______
Socially constructed
Name 3 recommendations for action on social determinants of health
- Improve daily living conditions
- Tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources
- Measure and understand the problem and assess the impact of action
In order to address health inequity, what must we address? (1,1)
Distal and fundamental causes of diseases
- Instead of individual level causes, we should ask, why do some people have better access to exercise, healthy food, etc.
What are 5 socio-demographic factors known to influence health/illness?
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Socioeconomic status
- Age
- Social location
How has colonization affected the health of Indigenous peoples? (2)
First Nations people living off reserve have lower than average life expectancies, and birth weights, higher (infant) mortality and rates of mental illness and suicide, than non-Indigenous people
Health of Indigenous peoples is compounded by what factors?
- Low education
- Unemployment
- Low income
- Inadequate housing
What is the social constructionist lens on disabilities?
There is nothing inherently wrong with having different abilities
What is a central belief found in critical disability studies? (1,1)
Against the notion that experts have knowledge, power, and authority to define what constitutes a disability and what does not
- People with lived experience are the real expert
Behaviours (e.g., addiction, mental health) that were once labelled deviant, immoral, “crazy” have now been _________
Medicalized
What are 2 possible consequences of medicalization?
- More illnesses = more profit for pharmaceutical companies
- More treatments without regard for individual and social well-being
How does medicalization positively impact the social perception of addictions? (1,2)
Medicalization allows for more humanitarian approach, dismantling the stigma around addictions as “diseases”
How did the medical model to addictions emerge?
- Increased power of physicians
- Economic and political incentives
- Caused a shift towards biopsychosocial model
Advantages of medicalization (4)
- Recognizes a condition as beyond the control of the individual
- Allows for diagnoses and treatment
- More research is conducted on the condition
- Individuals can find support from others
Disadvantages to medicalization (5)
- Assumes behaviours are inherently abnormal
- Labels lead to stereotypes, ‘othering’ and stigma
- Medicalizes natural life processes
- Ignores the social determinants of health
- Is driven by pharmaceutical companies who benefit financially
