lecture 3 (ch4/7) Flashcards
the black report was commissioned in ___ and published in ___ and named after ___
1977, 1980
sir douglas black
why was black report made
to explore association bw social class and health
what was key finding of black report
socioeconomic gradient in health:
for each improvement in social class, there was a corresponding improvement in health
higher education means ur less likely to…
smoke
list the explanations given in the black report
artefact
social selection
materialist
cultural/behavioural
artefact
questions validity of association by suggesting that association may be artificially created bc of the way it was measured
so how does one measure position in a socially stratified society?
- not good idea to measure by occupation bc some ppl unemployed
- could look at education, neighbourhood, income
social selection/reverse causation
altho the association exists, it may be that health causes peoples position in society
research supports this causal relationship with 2 exceptions
1. appears to be true for some illnesses
2. indirect social selection
materialist
accepts causal association in which low social class has effect on health outcomes
why does relationship exist?
- economic deprivation prevents individuals from obtaining the resources they need to maintain and promote their own health
cultural/behavioural
if policies were enacted to improve the material conditions of living, authors of black report worried that ingrained patterns of behaviour would persist
these concerns have led to diff ways in thinking abt social context of social class:
psychosocial pathways
- more attention to ones sense of place in social hierarchy (low status -> feeling powerless)
social capital
- aspects of social ties that provide and produce resources that can be used by ppl in a social network
definition of income inequality
measurement of distribution of income that highlights the gap between those making most of the income in a population and those making the least
when income inequality is high, gap between rich and poor is ____
large
who is the most well known researcher who proposed income inequality matters more than socioeconomic gradient in health
Richard Wilkinson
income inequality hypothesis
Wilkinson
proposed when country reached certain lvl of wealth, absolute improvements in living standards would have less of a benefit on health of population
when looking at a rich country, income inequality is about richest and poorest in the country
when looking at third world country, its about comparing that country to another country for income inequality
illness exists because our society has ____
defined it as existing
historical variation in what is recognized as illness
are there conditions seen as illnesses today, but were not seen as illnesses in past? vice versa
cultural variation in recognition of illnesses
are there conditions seen as illness in some cultures but not others?
medical model approach to illness
illness reflects an objective label, is not morally laden and is apolitical
is illness political?
yes some groups have more power to define what illness is and who is ill
as an institution, medicine wields_____ . its task is:
social control
its task is to enforce social norms around illness
medicalization
process thru which a condition or behaviour becomes defined as a medical problem requiring medical solution
positive benefits to medicalization
greater social awareness
empathy for person w condition
ensure person w condition recieves help
unintended consequences of medicalization
doctors become sole experts of condition
medical treatment is only way to resolve problem
reduces change that situation will be viewed in political terms
may be used to justify involuntary treatment
raises questions abt boundaries between whats normal and whats illness
sick role definition
illness becomes recognized and legitimated thru interaction of doctor and patient, allowing sick person to step away from responsibilities and recover
new health consciousness
more than wishing to avoid illness, our socities become preoccupied with achieving better health
there is moral imperative to take responsibility for ones health
the more important health becomes, the more insecure we feel about our own health
