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
Peter Sedgwick found that:"About 10% of all GPs prescriptions and 20% of annual expenditure goes on tranquillisers, anti- depressants or hypnotic drugs, mainly for women"(class handout)A woman's role is often looking after everyone in the family and because she tends to carry an added burden of stress with an attitude of having to soldier on with her responsibilities she may be prone to physical and mental disorders. (1989) " Inequalities In Health" Social Studies Review, Class Handout. "The idea that disease emanates from an individuals relationship with his environment was part of Greek medical orthodoxy and, as anthropologists have discovered, is a quite common concept in other cultures" (Gomm p248)Medical matters are often socially constructed through the beliefs of the medical profession and their power to control the behaviour of society, this happens when alcoholism, smoking or obesity are seen as unacceptable and so are labelled as disease which society finds easier to accept. 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. It would appear that there is something much bigger going on with the career interests of the doctors and the commercial interests of the drug companies Bibliography And ReferencesBrennan, M. However there are also theories that try explaining the results of the Black report, suggesting that the system of health care is not such an important factor as other life circumstances that affect the health of different classes. People suffering from depression are often given tranquillisers this in turn can cause addiction. In addition there are certain illness's that women suffer from because of their biology because women live longer they tend to suffer from degenerative disorders. "The individualist theory thus suggests that the lower social classes have poorer health because, through choice or ignorance, they adopt unhealthy behaviour"(Harvey p94)The materialistic theory believes that conditions such as poverty or homelessness are a direct cause of mortality. 6 times greater risk of dying from heart disease than those in the highest grade (Marsh, p473. (1993)"Blame It On The Hormones: The Irish Times Newspaper, Oct.
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