Health As A Social Consruct Flashcards
What is differential diagnosis
Is a process where a doctor differentiates btw two or more conditions that could be behind a persons symptoms
Marinkers 3 levels of health and illness?
Disease: a physical pathological process - deviation from biological form
Illness: a personal experience of feeling unhealthy (subjective)
Sickness: having a disease
WHO definition of health
“A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity”
WHO definition of mental health
Mental health is defined as a state of well being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to her or his community
Theories of health and disease
- Germ theory
- Biomedical model of disease
What is the biomedical model of disease
Each disease has a single specific cause
Focuses on physical biological factors (pathology, biochemistry, physiology) and excludes psychological, environmental and social influences
Target all research and interventions at the casual agent
Considered to be a predominant model of diagnosis in western medicine
Critique of biomedical model (MMRIT)
Mind-body dualism (treated as separate entities)
Mechanistic (body is a machine can be fixed)
Model has over reliance on technology
Reductionist (driven by germ theory that focuses on bio changes)
Ignores social, cultural, biographical and environmental explanations
Biomedical model of illness says treatments are:
Vaccination
Surgery
Chemotherapy
Etc.
Advantage of germ theory
Led to great improvements in medicine (e.g. hygiene)
Allowed wider research into specific causes and origins for diseases (e.g. bacterium, hormonal imbalance)
Consequences of the germ theory
Focus on individual body not environment
All research focused on 1 casual agent
Marinkers (1975) 3 “modes of unhealth”:
Disease
Illness
Sickness
What is Marinkers definition of disease?
Deviation from biological norm
Viewed objectively - measured and tested
Medical systems control over disease more important than individuals experience
Can cause damage to patient
Marinkers definition of illness
Experience of health which is completely personal
Accompanies disease
What is meant by “illness without disease”
Disease is yet to be diagnosed
When no physical disease can be found
What is meant by “disease without illness”
A diagnosis has been made but little personal experience
Marinkers definition of sickness
Social position of the sick person
Different social status of sick people
Negotiation of an individuals duties and need for support
Medical system as gate keeper (fit note)
Who is responsible for treatment according to biomedical model of illness
Medical profession
What is relationship btw illness and health according to biomedical model of illness
Qualitatively different
No continuum btw the two
Theories of health and disease
- Germ theory (beginnings of biomedical model)
- Multi-causal model of disease
- Social construction of health and illness
Examples of possible causes of illness according to multicasual model
Body (genes, IMS)
Microbe (bacteria, virus)
Behaviour (lifestyle factors)
Physical environment (pollution, walkability)
Social environment (lack of support)
Wider society (inequality, crowded housing)
Definition of social construct
An idea that has been created and accepted by the people in society
Why do sociologists claim that health and illness are social constructions
Because the concepts mean different things to different people
Health and illness cannot be objective scientific facts
- Not everyone experiences symptoms in the same way
- Different societies have different methods of diagnosis/ treatment
- Constructs under moral, social & religious influence
- Illness is not randomly distributed
The different levels thats the social construction of health is explored at
- Medicine / science as a social process
- How individuals experience symptoms
- Definition/ diagnosis of illness
- Effect of diagnosis/ labelling
- Understanding of illness is socially embedded
What is social construction of health
Disease categories are not created independently from social or moral forces
This doesnt mean medicine is unscientific but that med and science are social processes
