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SOCI5122 exam notes > LU2: Defining Health, Disease & Illness > Flashcards

LU2: Defining Health, Disease & Illness Flashcards

1
Q

Define disease:

A

The presence of physical signs.

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2
Q

Define illness or illness behaviour:

A

Subjective experience when someone is subjected to certain physical signs.

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3
Q

Define health:

A

According to WHO: health is defined in terms of physical, psychological & social criteria.
- seen as one of the earliest attempts to a holistic view of health.

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4
Q

What is the biomedical concept of health?

A

Starting point is the anatomical parts and the physiological systems of the body.

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5
Q

True or false:
Due to various concepts of health,there has been a growing acknowledgment of the influential role of culture, gender, age & ethnicity in respect of the subjective experience of health & healthcare.

A

True.

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6
Q

How do different people view health:

A

Younger people: physical fitness.
Older woman: emphasis on energy & coping.
Older people: stress the ability to be able to do things- be content & happy.

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7
Q

What is health as the absence of disease?

A
  • associated with the medical profession & has been described as an impoverished understanding of good health.
  • people are considered healthy as long as they don’t exhibit signs of physical abnormalities- regardless of how the feel themselves.
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8
Q

What is the criticism of health as an absence of disease?

A
  • The notion of abnormality implies that there are certain universal accosted norms & standards that are seen as healthy and how the body should function.
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9
Q

Something to think about…

A

Shortcoming of this perception: if someone has suffered brain damage when little but show no signs of physical impairment, are they healthy or ill?

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10
Q

What is health as an ideal state?

A
  • WHO: health is a state of complete physical, mental & social well- being & not merely the absence of a disease or infirmity.
  • it’s not if a person is ill or injured, but has a social dimension (a sense of well- being).
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11
Q

What are the criticisms of health as an ideal state?

A
  • critised for being too idealistic: specifies a state that is unattainable. Unhealthy unless attaining complete physical, mental & social well- being?
  • it does however encourage a more holistic thought about health & relates to a range of human capacities and qualities.
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12
Q

What is health as a commodity?

A
  • Health as a product suggests it can be bought (subscription to medical aid), sold (health food stores), given (survey, drugs) & lost (accident or disease).
  • Healthism: a movement to enhance and control personal health through taking supplements.
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13
Q

What are the criticisms for health as a commodity?

A
  • critiqued for suggesting that health is a technical matter- removed from the individual. Doctors, personal trainers perform in respect of the individual.
  • discounts, inequalities- people cannot buy health if they can’t even make ends meet.
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14
Q

What is health as a human right?

A
  • challenges the idea that health is a privilege that can be bought and rather an obligation that must be met.
  • international declarations have included health health as a human right.
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15
Q

What is health as a human right?

A
  • challenges the idea that health is a privilege that can be bought and rather an obligation that must be met.
  • international declarations have included health health as a human right.
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16
Q

In western context, disease refers to:

A
  • a biomedical term.
  • pathological changes of the biomedical organism diagnosed by signs and symptoms.
  • an objective entity that can be defined by a licensed person by means of instruments & can be monitored medically.
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17
Q

True or false:
Disease varies over time and is not fixed.

A

True.

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18
Q

Is disease seen as a social construct?

A

Yes, as society changes medical perceptions change as well.
- homosexuality was once defined as a disease, now is a lifestyle choice.
- alcoholism was once seen as immoral, but now is seen as a disease.

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19
Q

True or false:
Beliefs of what cause disease also vary- some believe in supernatural forces eg. God and some may consider disease as an honour.

A

True.

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20
Q

Discuss AIDS as a disease:

A
  • AIDS first seen as a plague- invisible, spreading and destructive, the breakdown of an ordered society.
  • AIDS as an invisible contagion- invisible and transmitted by ANY contact either an infected person.
  • AIDS as moral punishment- guilty (multiple sex partners) and innocent (contracted by means of blood transfusion).
  • AIDS as a primitive or pre- social force or entity- unconventional sexuality.
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21
Q

What is illness?

A

Refers to how people experience their symptoms, what meanings they ascribe to them and how they act upon them. People will therefore define symptoms differently and experience them differently.

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22
Q

According to the biomedical model, what is illness?

A

Illness behaviour is a direct response to physical pathology- sustain an injury or contract a disease and person is caused to respond in a certain way. Eg) broken leg= pain.

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23
Q

What is the sociological perspective of illness?

A
  • Behaviour is studied in its social context rather than relation to the physical condition.
  • A person tries to make sense of their symptoms and choose what to do with their experience of being ill.
  • Illness cannot be measured by biomedicine as the study is dependent on the experience suffering through the individual.
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24
Q

what is the sociological perspective on health and disease?

A
  • The sociological perspective AIMS to complement the biomedical model of disease.
  • Examines social functions and impact of medical knowledge and practice.
  • Health and disease are considered social “products” rather nature or genetics.
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25
Q

What are the 3 characteristics of the sociological perspective?

A
  1. Focus on social patterns vs individual behaviours.
  2. Sociologists are NOT trying to prescribe how medical professionals should do their jobs.
  3. The way in which conditions are titled and treated are a form of social control.
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26
Q

What are the 3 developments of the sociology of health and disease:

A
  1. Sociology IN medicine
  2. Sociology OF medicine
  3. Sociology VS biomedicine
27
Q

Describe the 1st phase: sociology IN medicine

A
  • sociology is considered inferior to medicine.
  • biomedical science held a prestige and sociologists were in the shadow.
  • sociologists therefore worked on issues that were problematic to medical professionals eg. Patient compliance/ non- compliance.
  • it was important for doctors to be notified as to why their patients would not follow their instructions and to be able to change this behaviour once they understood why.
28
Q

Describe the 2nd phase: sociology OF medicine

A
  • research was designed by sociologists to answer questions of general interest.
  • in the first phase: sociologists should view a patients non- compliance to be an issue however, they now view the non- compliance from the patients perspective.
  • patients ignored medical instructions due to not being able to understand the instructions or financial constraints didn’t allow patients to adhere to medical advice.
29
Q

Describe the 3rd phase: sociology VS medicine

A
  • sociologists have come to challenge medical world views & how doctors’ power and authority enable them to frame society’s ideas about health.
  • patients had started to consult doctors for conditions deemed previously as “normal”. Eg. Baldness, unattractive facial features, shyness etc- this was termed MEDICALISATION of society.
  • reclassifying social phenomena formally regarded as sin or a crime as a disease.
30
Q

Describe the 3rd phase: sociology VS medicine

A
  • reclassifying social phenomena formally regarded as morally deviant (sin) or a socially deviant (crime) as a disease.
  • medicalisation transforms a problem at a social level- stressful work demands- into an individual problem which seeks medical care.
  • demedicalisation: conditions that were medicalised are no longer regarded as such. Eg) homosexuality.
31
Q

The biomedical model has 4 distinct influences:

A
  1. Cartesian Revolution
  2. Doctrine of specific aetiology
  3. Development of the clinical method
  4. Institutionalisation of healthcare
32
Q

Describe the Cartesian revolution:

A
  • in the Middle Ages, medicine development was influenced by the dominant medieval church.
  • the church had placed a religious ban on the study of the human anatomy as body and soul were believed to be inseparable. Eg) if the human body was not preserved intact, your soul could not ascend to heaven.
  • without knowledge of the human anatomy, medical science could not progress.
  • 17th century, Renè Descartes able to make anatomical dissections & paved the way by emphasising mind- body dualism- the mind was able to serve the body.
33
Q

Describe the doctrine of specific aetiology (germ theory):

A
  • diseases have distinct causes- infections occur because of the action of invisible micro- organisms- researchers: Louis Pasteur & Robert Koch.
  • Miasmata or “bad air” from dirt and lack of hygiene caused such diseases.
  • main influence of germ theory- theoretical development of medicine and not health per se.
  • germ theory regarded as having caused a scientific Revolution & the decrease in the death rate in the 19th century.
  • sanitary reforms were not quite aware of microorganisms causing infection however, they were aware of how poverty & pollution played a role in causing disease.
34
Q

What is the clinical method?

A
  • towards the end of the 18th century, Herman Boerhaave established the idea of BEDSIDE MANNER.
  • he revived the Hippocratic tradition by teaching students at patients bedsides- combining practice with theory.
35
Q

Describe the Institutionalisation of healthcare?

A
  • Healthcare before the 19th century was predominantly delivered within the home of the patients by household members or health professionals.
  • the move households—> hospitals.
  • hospitals at first had inadequate sanitary conditions and ventilation.
  • the development of the germ theory assisted in moving this perception away from being negative whereby patients started to become isolated ti avoid the spread of germs- patients of all classes could find good care and be cured of their disorders.
36
Q

Give the 3 characteristics of biomedicine:

A
  1. Adopts a technological imperative: physicians are trained to provide the best possible medical care (latest and greatest technological care).
  2. Reductionist: reduces diseases to chemistry and physics (the explanations of disease focus on biological changes, social and psychological factors are ignored).
  3. Objective science whereby medicine biomedicine is based on empirical observation and induction (medicine is the only valid response to understanding the disease).
37
Q

Give the 3 characteristics translating into medical practice:

A
  1. Nature & causes of health and disease- health is regarded as the absence of BIOLOGICAL abnormality. Disease in an alien intruder that needs to be expelled.
  2. The patient- because of mind/ body dualism and the mechanical metaphor. Focus treatment= patients body.
  3. Nature of the intervention- focus= cure & to manipulate the physical symptoms so as to make them disappear.
38
Q

What are the criticisms of biomedicine?

A
  • efficacy is exaggerated
  • professional medicine dominated
  • patients body is isolated from the person
  • medical control of woman’s health
  • scientific method= only way to obtain truth about disease
  • disregard for social context and disease.
39
Q

What are the successes of biomedicine?

A
  1. Infectious disease control
  2. Chronic disease management
  3. Cancer treatment
  4. Surgical innovations
  5. Genetic and molecular medicine
  6. Diagnostics and imaging.
40
Q

Describe the social model:

A
  • due to the criticisms at biomedicine & some major societal changes- medicine has been called upon to return to the health problems of the WHOLE PERSON.
  • biomedical practitioners must develop insights into other aspects regarding the people they treat.
  • factors other than physiological that influence health have been explored.
  • “problems in living”- dysfunctions that involve many causes- not all of which are biomedical.
  • the mor holistic way of looking at health has resulted in several models (eg. Bio- psycho- social model).
41
Q

What is the bio- psycho- social model?

A

Recognizes that health is not solely determined by biological factors. Instead, emphasizes the importance of considering psychological well- being and social context when diagnosing and treating illnesses. This promotes patient- centered care, fostering a more comprehensive approach to prevention, treatment and recovery.

42
Q

What is the social model of disability?

A

The problem is how society is arranged, not the disabled person.
Eg) inaccessible buildings and housing, inaccessible public transport, segregated schools & only stairs, with no ramps or lift.

43
Q

What is the biomedical model of disability?

A

The problem is the disabled person.
Eg) is housebound, confined to a wheelchair & needs help and carers.

44
Q

What are the theoretical approaches to health & disease?

A
  • theories are the key tool for sociological investigation- perspectival- compromises of many theories and many perspectives.
  • theories and perspectives provide different accounts of the social causes of disease and the role of the medical Institutionalisation.
45
Q

Describe structural functionalism:

A
  • Talcott Parsons: highlighted the social dimensions of the health and disease phenomena.
  • concept of the sick role: if too many members of society are sick —> dysfunctional & disruptive society as a whole.
  • sickness needs to be managed so that majority of society would be able to perform their roles and obligations to maintain the economic system and to avoid an unsustainable demand on healthcare services.
  • disease can be regarded as a form of deviance by society and needs to be regulated by the medical professionals to curb deviant tendencies of individuals who try to escape their social roles.
  • person’s believed that disease threatens social stability.
46
Q

What is the development of the “sick role?”

A
  • people use ill health consciously or unconsciously to avoid their social responsibilities.
  • society allows illness yet minimizes its impact.
  • a “formula” for allowing a legitimate amount of sickness.
  • a temporary role- how should society deal with sick people and how should sick people behave.
  • a sick person doesn’t choose to deliberately become sick yet being sick has 2 benefits and 2 obligations.
47
Q

What are the 2 benefits of the “sick role?“

A
  1. A sick person has the right to be excused temporarily from social responsibilities- doctors note for validation and to maintain some control so people don’t linger in the sick role.
  2. The sick person isn’t held responsible and others need to take care of the sick person such as health professionals.
48
Q

What are the 2 obligations of the “sick role?“

A
  1. Sick person is obliged not to get used to being sick and not to lose the motivation to get well.
  2. The sick person is expected to seek medical advice and co- operate with health care experts.
49
Q

What is the criticism of the sick role concept?

A
  • Doesn’t allow variation due to factors such as age, gender, social class, race and culture.
  • Parsons assumed the urge to get better would be the same in every person.
50
Q

Who does the sick role concept NOT apply to?

A
  • women who need to take care of their children.
  • stigmatized conditions. Eg. Alcoholism- victim blamed for contracting the disease.
  • persons with chronic diseases cannot meet all obligations of the sick role.
51
Q

Discuss chronic illness and how it cannot fulfill the “temporary” obligation:

A

Society needs to modify social obligations to be less rigid OR the person needs to take on another role as being disabled.

52
Q

Describe the process of normalization:

A

Known as vacating the sick role and returning the social responsibilities however, individuals prolong the sick role even if a medical expert is deemed healthy. Individuals get comfortable having someone else take over their responsibilities.

53
Q

Parsons concluded that not every sick role concept could be found in every case, but what was shown was an IDEAL TYPE which is defined as

A

Ideal type- a model that could be used with a view to understanding a particular phenomenon.

54
Q

Describe the conflict theory:

A
  • inequality & injustice are sources of conflict that permeate society.
  • resources & power are unequally distributed therefore, some will have less- institutions included.
  • groups in society need to compete for limited resources- causes conflict.
55
Q

Describe inequalities in health:

A
  • before society was industrialized, mortality was due to infectious diseases such as cholera and plagues (these diseases didn’t discriminate and thrived among all social classes).
  • Economic developments resulted in an improvement in diets as agricultural techniques developed, deliveries became more efficient and vitamins started being taken- all lead to people becoming resistant to diseases.
  • an increase in biomedical advances also contributed to the decline in infectious diseases.
56
Q

Describe Marx’s stratification of society:

A
  • 2 major social classes: have’s and have not’s contribution to inequality in health & disease.
  • apartheid’s contribution: only specific resources were made available to groups of race.
    Social class: born into poverty results in a continuation of poverty= social class and health= health inequalities.
    Eg) the discovery of penicillin was not extended to all parts of the world due to inequalities.
57
Q

Define life expectancy:

A

The average number of years a group of people is expected to live.

58
Q

Describe the health status in developed and developing countries: (life expectancy)

A

Developed countries: increased
Developing countries: decreased.

59
Q

Define symbolic interactionism:

A

Interactionists view is that we as human beings act instead of being acted upon: humans are creative participants who construct their own social world and aren’t passive & conforming objects of socialization.

60
Q

Theorist who studied institutional life ?

A

Erving Goffman.

61
Q

What are the 2 aspects of Institutional life:

A
  1. Master status.
  2. Depersonalization.
62
Q

Describe master status:

A

Due to isolation, inmates only have one role being a patient and the role of being a patient becomes their master status and all the behavior is interpreted through the lens of the illness.

63
Q

Describe depersonalization:

A

Staff members have to manage many patients, they limit individual desires- what to wear, what to eat, when to sleep etc.

SOCI5122 exam notes (4 decks)

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