HEALTH AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT

Question 1

Marinker’s ‘3 modes of unhealth’ definitions:
- Disease
- Illness
- Sickness

Answer 1

Disease is the deviation from biological norm which is viewed and measured objectively.

Illness is the patient’s own subjective experiences of unhealth. it often accompanies disease

Sickness is the social position of the sick person. Is their illness taken more seriously based on factors such as age/ gender/ ethnicity. Doctors act as gatekeepers and legitimise sickness to the rest of society and this can allow patients to take time of work and usual activities

Question 2

How are diseases defined?

Answer 2

USA =DSM - V
WHO = ICD -11
Electronic patient record

Question 3

Describe the biomedical model of ILLNESS (3)

Answer 3

Illness is treated with medication e.g vaccination, chemo, surgery

Illness is treated by medical professionals

There is no relationship between illness and health as they are qualitatively different

Question 4

Give 3 limitations of the biomedical model of ILLNESS

Answer 4

• It is reductionist as it only focuses on a singular cause and doesn’t take into account environmental, social or cultural factors
• Ignores interaction between body and mind
• Over reliance on interventions ‘done’ to the individual

Question 5

What 6 causes does the multi causal model of illness take into account?

Answer 5

• Body - genes
• Microbes - bacteria
• Behaviour - smoking
• Physical environment - pollution, walkability
• Social environment - social support
• Wider environment - inequality, housing

Question 6

Describe the biomedical model of DISEASE that was inspired as a result of germ theory

Answer 6

• Each disease has a single specific cause
• Focuses on the physical biological factors (biochemistry, pathology, physiology)
• Excludes psychological, environmental and social influences.
• Target all research & interventions at the cause i.e. germ, radiation, toxic chemical, gene (i.e. using human genome project)
• The predominant model of diagnosis in western medicine

Question 7

Definition of social construct

Answer 7

An idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society

Question 8

Why is health considered to be a social construct ?

Answer 8

Sociologists claim health and illness are social constructions because the concepts mean different things to different people.
Therefore, health and illness cannot be objective scientific facts.