Exam 2 Flashcards
How do medical sociologists distinguish illness from disease?
Disease refers to actual medical symptoms that affect the individual. This is more generally affecting the structure or function of a part of the body. Illness refers to someone’s perception and reaction to the symptoms. Illness has three elements which are the designation of medical symptoms, the reaction of the ill person, and the social, psychological, and economic consequences. Illness is more than the symptoms as it also involves the reactions and perceptions.
What are examples of how illness is a social construction?
One example is that illness does not have the same objective realities as diseases and symptoms. People attach their symptoms to the social idea of illness. People can pick and choose what they want to think about illness, therefore illness can be perceived as a negative thing socially. In addition, this applies to someone’s symptoms and if they seem legit enough to be noticed or treated societally. Culture can shape views about illness. For example, some cultures may not be as accepting of providing birth control care as other cultures.
Why are some medical sociologists critical of medicalization?
Some medical sociologists are critical of medicalization because it can be used to increase profit. One way this can happen is someone who has something that is now considered a medical condition has to go see a physician and get prescribed something for it. Doing something like this can take away from the public eye, and people can dehumanize things that not only need medical attention, but also mental help. For example, alcoholism causes physical health problems but there is often a mental cause. Making it a disease takes away the social cause that needs attention.
What are the stages of the illness experience?
The stages of illness experience are symptom experience, assumption of the sick role, medical care contact, dependent-patient role, and recovery and rehabilitation stage.
How and why does social class affect help-seeking behavior?
Social class affects help seeking behavior through education and income. People with lower levels of education and income and less likely to seek proper medical help even though they are more likely to have health problems. People of a lower SES may think that finding help is too expensive because they lack insurance. They may also not have the same physical access to healthcare as others. These people will end up leaving things untreated or let their health get worse.
How and why does chronic illness often create biographical disruption?
Chronic illness creates biographical disruption by disrupting someone’s life by restricting them from their normal activities. This affects their quality of life for example, if they cannot walk, exercise, communicate, or do a hobby anymore. They also worry more about what will happen ahead. Chronic illness cuts ties on relationships as well the more restricted someone is from their illness. It is especially restricting if someone develops a chronic illness at a very young age.
What is a fundamental cause of disease?
A fundamental cause of disease is, arguably, often tied to social conditions. A fundamental cause has four features. They are 1. It influences the likelihood of many diseases and other health problems, not just a few diseases of health problems, 2. It affects disease via many types of risk factors such as smoking and poor nutrition, 3. It involves access to resources that help people avoid health risks and/or limit the effects of disease after they become sick, and 4. Its effects on health persist over time even though intervening mechanisms may change. The argument behind this is that these features and social conditions are underlying to multiple diseases for multiple reasons. An example of a fundamental cause being tied to a disease is AIDS and who was involved and why.
What is meant by health disparities?
Health disparities are the inequalities regarding who gets sick based on their position in society. This relates to the fundamental causes of disease. Health disparities occur when someone is ranked lower in society and results in negative consequences on health and receiving care. This does not measure who is healthy and who is not, but rather who is more likely to be healthy throughout their lives.
How and why does social class influence health and disease?
Social class influences health and disease because it is known that people who belong to a lower social class are more likely to experience almost every health problem. Social class affects the likelihood of someone getting sick and what happens when someone does get sick. People cannot pay for a healthy lifestyle, then when they face the consequences of unhealthy habits, they cannot pay for the care to get out of it. The severity of a sickness is higher for low income people compared to people with a higher income. This is because they can also catch it quicker or afford an appointment to rule anything out/have a check up.
How and why do race and ethnicity influence health and disease?
Race and ethnicity influence health and disease because for starters, certain races naturally have worse health than others. For example, some races get more severe symptoms. Another example is how African-Americans have a higher asthma rate. The statistics of health per race are all very different, and while some races are generally healthier than others, the ‘healthier’ races also have higher risks in some more specific diseases. Therefore, the inconsistency of race makes it hard to explain the impact.
Why do women have worse health overall than men?
Women have worse health than men overall because even though they outlive men, women are more likely to have chronic illnesses and immune disorders. Men have more life threatening diseases that they may not be born with or have long term. This is based on the biological difference between the two sexes, as well as the sociological differences between men and women. Women are more likely to experience reproductive health issues because they can get pregnant and have children and they are vulnerable to certain diseases. They are also affected by violence towards women because they are targeted and victims of domestic violence, rape, assault, etc.
Why does religiosity promote better health?
Religion promotes better health because they can choose to engage (or not engage) in behaviors that are good or bad for their health. For example, someone may choose not to smoke or drink for religious choices, which is good for their health. Additionally, they surround themselves with people of the same religion who will have similar values which can motivate someone. This can be good for both their physical and mental health, because it also acts as a support system for that individual. People can also use their religion to find peace and be content.
Health belief models implies that people’s perceptions about their health matters more than objective evidence of potential health problems- all related to their decision to engage in health behaviors
true
With a college education people are able to think rationally and look at multiple sides o a situation
true
People with more education usually have more money and are better able to buy the things that maintain health
true
