health and illness
Definitions of health and illness are very complex, in that there are cultural differences in how societies classify what are health and illness, the causes and the treatment. However because disease occurs in patterns it is thought that the conditions that determine health chances are social conditions. The way we think about health and illness is socially constructed as we are used to accepting the views of the medical profession. In modern medicine our bodies are seen as machines and doctors as mechanics, however studies by sociologists show that there is a range of environmental, political and behavioural factors that contribute to the construction of health and illness. In societies what appears to be abnormal or unacceptable is often labelled as disease, conflicts arise because what accounts for illness differs from place to place and from time to time. Numerous studies also show that a person's social class strongly affects health and longevity, and that poverty and social class are the most important factors determining health. The lower ones social rank the more prone one is to early death. Beliefs about gender also influence attitudes to health and illness, as what is natural becomes medicalised when women's natural rep
The other explanation considered by the Black report accepted the relationship between social class and health, the social selection explanation theorises that it is not social class that affects heath but health that affects social class, people who suffer poor health stay at the bottom of the occupational scale because they are not healthy enough to make any progress, and that it is not the lower class which actually causes their poor health but rather people who are ill tend to take time off school and work so their chances of succeeding are less likely than someone who is healthy and is rarely absent from school or work . Rubinstein, D. (1986) "Lunatic Or Heroine?" New Society, Class Handout. The elderly in society are also often diagnosed as sick because they are most vulnerable to illness; a large number of the elderly are in hospitals not because they are sick but because there is no one to look after them at home and also because health and welfare services fail to provide enough care in the community. Graham, H. (1987) "Women Health And Illness", Social Studies Review, Class Handout. Our ideas in society tend to construct gender differences in health problems, there appears to be some evidence that men take more risks than women such as dangerous sports and violent activities and hazardous occupations, also women tend to consult doctors more often but yet statistics suggest women have more ill health, but this could be because women in their socially produced gender roles are seen as more acceptable to show weakness and seek medical help. Women's lives are more often medicalised than men, in childbirth, reproduction and mental health women are more likely to be given prescriptions for anti-depressants or tranquillizers, men however are more likely to have alcohol related problems, a more socially acceptable response to stress than it is for women. Peter Sedgwick found that: Bibliography And References
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1914
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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