1. Health and Medicine Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

2. A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being
Health
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being
Health is as much a social as a biological issue.
Patterns of well-being and illness are rooted in social organization.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

3. Health and Society Cultural patterns define health.
Cultural standards of health change over time.
A society’s technology affects people’s health.
Social inequality affects people’s health.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

4. Health: A Global Survey
Health in low-income countries
Relatively short life expectancy
Most die before reaching their teens.
Poor sanitation is a killer.
10% of children die within a year of birth.
Health in high-income countries
By the early 20th century, death rates from infectious diseases had fallen sharply.
Now chronic illnesses cause most deaths, usually in old age.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

5. Who Is Healthy?
Social epidemiology–The study of how health and disease are distributed throughout a society’s population
Factors include:
Age
Gender
Social class
Race
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

6. Age & Gender Death is now rare among young people.
Across the life course, women fare better than men.
Our cultural conception of masculinity pressures men.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

7. Social Class and Race Higher income and wealth boosts health:
better nutrition
better health care
safer and less stressful surroundings
Infant mortality
Twice as high for disadvantaged children as for children born into privileged families.
Poorest US children are as vulnerable to disease as those in low-income nations
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

8. Cigarette Smoking Most preventable health hazard
By 2004, only 21% of Americans smoke
Smokers: Divorced, separated, unemployed, in the military, and less schooling
440,000 people die prematurely each year as a direct result of smoking
Exceeding the combined deaths from alcohol, cocaine, heroin, homicide, suicide, auto accidents, and AIDS
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

9. Eating Disorders
An intense form of dieting or other unhealthy methods of weight control driven by the desire to be very thin
95% of those suffering from anorexia and bulimia are white, affluent women.
Research: Most college-age women believe that “guys like thin girls.”
Most men express more satisfaction with their body shape.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

10. Obesity Two-thirds of adults are overweight.
Obesity can limit physical activity and raises the risk of serious diseases
Odds of being overweight go up among people with lower incomes
Social causes of obesity
Lack of physical activity
Poor diet
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

11. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
1960s sexual revolution saw a rise in STD rates, generated sexual counter-revolution
Because our culture associates sex with sin, some people regard STDs as marks of immorality.
Gonorrhea & syphilis
Genital herpes
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

12. Ethics & Death When does death occur?
When an irreversible state involving no response to stimulation, no movement or breathing, no reflexes, and no indication of brain activity
Do people have the right to die?
10,000 Americans are in a permanent “vegetative state.”
What about mercy killing?
Euthanasia–Assisting in the death of a person suffering from an incurable disease
Active euthanasia–Allowing a physician to help a sick person die
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

13. The Medical Establishment
Medicine–The social institution that focuses on fighting disease and improving health.
The rise of scientific medicine
American Medical Association founded in 1847
Other healers kept tradition but occupy lesser role.
Chiropractors, herbalists, midwives
Conflict between scientific medicine and traditional healing continues today.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

14. Holistic Medicine
Holistic medicine–An approach to health care that emphasizes prevention of illness and takes into account a person’s entire physical and social environment
Three foundations of holistic health care:
Treat patients as people
Encourage responsibility, not dependency
Provide personal treatment
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

15. Medicine in Socialist Nations
China
Government controls most health care operations.
“Barefoot doctors” in rural areas practice traditional healing arts.
Russian Federation
Medical care is in transition, but all citizens have a right to basic medical care.
Setbacks in health care, partly because of a falling standard of living
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

16. Medicine in Capitalist Societies
Sweden
Socialized medicine–A medical care system in which the government owns and operates most medical facilities and employs most physicians
Great Britain
Also has socialized medicine, but citizens may choose public or private health care.
Canada
Single-payer model; government is like an insurance company
Japan
Doctors operate privately, but government pays most expenses.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

17. Paying for Care in the U.S.
Direct fee system–Medical care system in which patients pay directly for the services of physicians and hospitals
Private insurance: Few programs pay all costs.
Public insurance programs
Medicare for those over 65
Medicaid for impoverished and veterans
Health maintenance organizations–An organization that provides comprehensive medical care to subscribers for a fixed fee
No HMO provides full coverage
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

18. Nursing Shortage
Shortage of nurses as fewer people enter the profession
Nurses cite heavy patient loads, too much overtime, stressful work environment, lack of respect.
Working nurses say they wouldn’t recommend the field to others.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

19. Theoretical Analysis
Structural-functional analysis: Parsons’ role theory
Sick role–Patterns of behavior defined as appropriate for people who are ill
Doctors expect patients to cooperate.
Social-conflict analysis: Health and inequality
Access to medical care, the effects of the profit motive, and the politics of medicine
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

20. Theoretical Analysis Symbolic-interaction analysis: Meaning of health
Ideas of health and stress are socially constructed.
How people define a condition may actually affect how they feel.
Surgery can affect social identity.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

21. Future of Health and Medicine
Today, Americans take good health and long life for granted.
Individuals taking responsibility of their own health
Double standard of health between rich and poor people
Health problems are greater in low-income countries.
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis
Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.