StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalities in Society - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalities in Society" states that in these times of radical change to the economic organization of the world, the need to build bridges between medicine and public health and between ethics and human rights become all the more important…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.9% of users find it useful
Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalities in Society
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalities in Society"

?Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalities in Society: In the early years of the twenty first century, with so much evolution in sociological thought having already taken place, no scholar can dismiss theories concerning health inequalities in society. All societies of past and present exhibited fissures in terms of class, gender, age groups, etc. Sociologists have discovered valid correlations between these social parameters and indicators of wellbeing. In this respect, all four prominent sociological approaches to studying health and wellbeing offer their own insights and inputs about the correlations. In other words, the Social Constructionist/Artefact approach, the Social/Natural Selection approach, Cultural/Behavioural approach and the Materialist/Structuralist approach offer different perspectives on health inequalities in past and present societies. The Biomedical model of health preceded modern sociological health paradigm, where freedom from disease, pain or defect is the core focus. The physician typically inspects the patient ‘after’ the onset of an ailment and studies the pathology of disease, physiological mechanisms at play, as well as the biochemical processes. Under the biomedical model, the emphasis is on ‘cure’ and ‘healing’ through scientific application of medical principles as and when a medical condition presents itself. While this goal is perfectly legitimate, the critics of the Biomedical model point out its narrow focus, which largely leaves aside the social, economic and psychological factors that often precede and determine the health of an individual. (Wyman, 2000, p.77) It is due to this lack of wholeness in this model of health, that scholars and thinkers have devised other wholesome perspectives. They have added newer dimensions to the study of human health, and the result is the invention of sociological analytic frameworks for studying people’s health. The dominant discourse of the social determinants of health paradigm “assumes a socio-environmental approach to health primarily ‘concerned with risk conditions rather than risk factors’. These conditions include poverty; income, gender, racial, and sexual inequality; stressful environments; housing and living conditions; education and early child care; food security; employment and working conditions; social inclusion and exclusion; and globalization. Efforts to attend to health inequities by anyone working under this paradigm would, therefore, address some or all of these issues.” (Ashcroft, 2010, p.251) Social determinants of health such as geographical location, gender, age, ethnic origin, education level, governance and socioeconomic status are all factors that contribute to an individual’s health status. Statistics from World Health Report 2001 supports the veracity of these connections. For example, developing nations continue to lag behind in standard of living parameters. Even as globalization has enabled technology aided interconnectivity, hundreds of thousands of people are still living under hostile health conditions (Taylor, 2002, p.25). While the rich nations are getting richer, complete swathes of sub-Saharan people still confront poverty, hunger, illiteracy and threat of infectious disease on a day to day basis. The biggest threat to people in this particular region is HIV/AIDS, an ailment that consumes a million lives every six months in Africa, with sub-Saharan African nations bearing the brunt of this epidemic. This region, according to statistics released by Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, is home to seventy percent of people infected with HIV worldwide. Such numbers betray the socio-political realities of the region, with its attendant failure to invest in public health projects (Kazatchkine, 2007, p.77). They also clearly indicate the validity of sociological explanations for health inequalities. The connection between the economic status of a country and its ability to deliver robust public health services is an established fact. Also, the litmus test for the efficiency and effectiveness of any public health system is its performance in a crisis situation. Civil societies have come to expect basic protections at the time of these crises. Such emergencies also test a government’s true ability to act under pressure. In other words, “they define a state's capacity to protect its population while exposing its vulnerabilities to political upheaval in the aftermath of poorly managed crises” (Gorin, 2002, p.56). Many of modern epidemics, including AIDS, polio, and malaria may in a few years’ time even out. But, for a developing nation, new challenges in the form of cancer, road accidents and cardiovascular disease will emerge. Further, although sufficient progress has been made in checking infant mortality rates in the Third World since the 1980s, cases of easily contagious epidemics like tuberculosis have not declined. This goes on to show that the biomedical model of health is inadequate in explaining inequalities in health. It also makes a case for exploring sociological explanations for health inequalities. The Cultural/Behavioural approach, for instance, offers insights into factors affecting healthcare. For example, differences have been noted in health status across various ethnic groups both here in the UK and also in the USA. But there are disagreements and weaknesses associated with this approach. For example, some scholars argue that “the cultural and genetic factors are of greater importance...In much of the health related literature on ethnic minorities there is a strong tendency for explanations of variations in health status in different ethnic communities to be based on oversimplistic culturalistic explanations. These culturalist explanations ignore social and economic deprivation as being causally related to the development of certain illnesses. For instance rickets among Asian groups is held to relate to the 'Asian diet' and lack of sunlight. The fact that Asians live in inner city areas with limited access to park space and limited mobility on account of a real fear of racial discrimination is not taken into account.” (Dein, 2006, p.68) The Structuralist/Materialist approach to studying health inequalities throws further light on the subject. Recent discussion in the field towards effective actions to tackle health inequalities has seen an increasingly explicit focus on addressing 'unjust social structures'. Scholars and human rights advocates such as Whitehead, Braveman and Gruskin have attempted to clarify prevailing understandings of health and equity specifically for research and policy purposes. They argue that “while structures of exploitation and discrimination prevail, the right to health is seriously circumscribed. From this perspective, health inequities are strongly associated 'with unjust social structures; those structures (that) systematically put disadvantaged groups at generally increased risk of ill health and also compound the social and economic consequences of ill health'. This is significant because the right to health is a basic human right established and ratified by the Constitution of the WHO (1946) and international human rights treaties. Governments who are signatories to such treaties are therefore publicly committed to the implementation of the principles and practices of justice that will secure the right to health for all. Further, such a right is contingent on the equalisation of opportunities to be healthy.” (Schofield, 2007, p.105) Further illustrating the Structuralist/Materialist constraints for equitable healthcare, the former chief of the World Health Organization, Dr. Gro Brundtland, agrees that there is a disconnection between wealth creation and wider access to public health in a world dominated by globalization. He observes: “Technologies are spreading, communication is worldwide, people know what is available, and yet the dramatic gaps and lack of access to healthcare become greater and greater. We must look upon the world as a shared responsibility so that we deal with the gaps and help those technologies become available for those who don't have access. That's the only way to keep globalization from becoming really unhealthy.” (Brundtland, 2001, p.28) Coming to the Social/Natural selection approach to studying health inequalities, the dominant theory is drawn from Social Darwinism, where health inequalities are seen as a result of cold apathetic processes of Mother Nature with its motto being ‘survival of the fittest’. The pervasive finding that wealth is directly related to health, whether measured at the level of nations or at the level of individuals, might lead one to the inference that these ‘income/health gradients’ are inevitable. They might seem “to reflect the natural ordering of societies along some fixed, idealized teleology of economic development. At the individual level, the gradient might appear to be the result of the natural selection of the most "fit" members within society who are thus better able to garner socioeconomic advantage.” (Daniels, et.al, 1999, p.215) But we should remember that human beings are unique in their capacity to supersede their natural inclinations. Moreover, altruism and compassion toward fellow humans are not qualities ‘outside’ natural behaviour. To this extent, the Social/Natural Selection view of health inequalities should be treated critically. In a similar vein, the Constructionist/Artefact approach to health also reveals fundamental social injustices. As an acknowledgement of the injustices, inequalities and disadvantages inherent in the dominant biomedical model, and also as a consolidation of the insights offered by sociological explanations of inequalities in health, a consensus is emerging within the international community toward the formation of a more equitable public health system. Such conceptions as the international development targets, which were discussed in recent WHO meetings try to deal with diseases of poverty head on. Simultaneously, there has been a growing concern from private corporations to involve themselves in civil society organizations. The global health initiative is a product of these developments. The report by WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) suggests a comprehensive array of changes to give all societies world class health care. These recommendations could have the widest impact on patients, families, and communities, including treatment of people with substance abuse and more aggressive management of obesity. If implemented properly, we may see a more equitable global health system in the not-distant future. But for this dream to be fulfilled, private corporations and government health agencies need to put in concerted and coordinated efforts based on shared values. In these times of radical change to the economic organization of the world, the need to build bridges between medicine and public health and between ethics and human rights become all the more important. (Lietz, 2006, p.372) References: Ashcroft, R. (2010). Health Inequities: Evaluation of Two Paradigms. Health and Social Work, 35(4), 249+. Brundtland, G. H. (2001, January). Achieving Global Health Equity. Presidents & Prime Ministers, 10, 28. Daniels, N., Kennedy, B. P., & Kawachi, I. (1999). Why Justice Is Good for Our Health: The Social Determinants of Health Inequalities. Daedalus, 128(4), 215. Dein, S. (2006). Race, Culture and Ethnicity in Minority Research: a Critical Discussion. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 13(2), 68+. Gorin, S. H. (2002). The Crisis of Public Health Revisited: Implications for Social Work. Health and Social Work, 27(1), 56+. Kazatchkine, M. (2007, December). Combatting HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: Investing in Health Can Make the Difference. UN Chronicle, 44, 77+. Lietz, K. (2006). Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health. Journal of International Affairs, 59(2), 372+. Schofield, T. (2007). Health Inequity and Its Social Determinants: a Sociological Commentary. Health Sociology Review, 16(2), 105+. Taylor, T. (2002, Spring). The Truth about Globalization. Public Interest 24+. Ward, P., Redgrave, P., & Read, C. (2006). Operationalizing the Theory of Social Quality: Theoretical and Experiential Reflections from the Development and Implementation of a Public Health Programme in the UK. European Journal of Social Quality, 6(2), 9+. Wyman, B. P. (2000). Biomedical and Behavioral Research on Juvenile Inmates: Uninformed Choices and Coerced Participation. Journal of Law and Health, 15(1), 77+. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalites in Society Essay”, n.d.)
Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalites in Society Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1444906-sociological-explanations-for-apparent-health
(Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalites in Society Essay)
Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalites in Society Essay. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1444906-sociological-explanations-for-apparent-health.
“Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalites in Society Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1444906-sociological-explanations-for-apparent-health.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Sociological Explanations for Apparent Health Inequalities in Society

Social Stratification

Stratification describes the different "layers" that exist in society.... Social hierarchy can be based on the possession of different qualities in different communities, and some societies are more equal than others, but none can ever be completely unstratified as there will always be inequalities in certain areas, due to individual differences.... The term social stratification is a sociological term used to describe the various differentiations or groupings of people within society....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Health Deterioration in the Present Generation

inequalities in the Health Sector: Key Issues and Policy Responses.... Though there are unavoidable changes in the body system during the aging process like memory loss, the trend is… Although a number of factors contribute to the health inequalities and deterioration, this paper supports sociologists' perspective that health deteriorates in reference to the hierarchical categorization. According to Muga, inequality in health is a Health Inequality Health deterioration has become a common phenomenon in the present generation....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Variables of Social Class and Ethnicity

The sociology of health and illness discusses the relationship between factors in society that affect morbidity and mortality and vice versa (Timmermans, Stefan & Steven Haas, 2008: 659-676).... he Black Report –named after Chairman Sir Douglas Black, President of the Royal College of Physicians – showed that the inequalities in health continued to widen ever since the National Health Service (NHS) was established in 1948.... According to Marx, these forces of production are the basis for political, educational, legal, and health inequalities....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Relationship of Gender and Family to Politics and Class in the Communist Manifesto

One position argues the nuclear family is a result of society, the other, an enabler of society.... nbsp;The technologically advancing modern capitalist society, people are becoming more and more alienated.... For a functionalist, any type of social disruption is a problem if it threatens the smooth and efficient running of society.... Capitalism, as opposed to Marxism, is designed to produce for individual profits, not for the whole society which includes friends, neighbors, and families....
6 Pages (1500 words) Article

Social Ecology Theory and Strain Theory of Criminal Behaviour

Historians who con-merchants conflict perspective of society viewed robbery as a component of the deepening struggle between labor and capital (Einstadter, 2006).... This paper “Social Ecology Theory and Strain Theory of Criminal Behaviour” will discuss a form of deviance that is commonly discussed in relation to individuals' economic situation: property crime, or more specifically, robbery....
16 Pages (4000 words) Research Paper

Examining the Influence of Gender Inequality

According to Duncan & Smith (2006), the study of individualization in individualization theses have been crucial in signifying the implications of such behavioral transitions observed within individual persons and the society overall.... For instance, where on one hand, individualization theses have been quite significant in developing sociological understandings to the identification as well as the elaboration of the new paradigms of the contemporary society, its extent of contribution has also been limited owing to the lack of diversity and criticality in the discussions, especially in the cross-cultural context....
14 Pages (3500 words) Literature review

Gender and Race Inequalities

This form of inequality mainly stems from the particular roles that different genders are assumed to play in society.... This report "Gender and Race Inequalities" presents race and gender inequalities in the United States.... omen have been negatively affected by gender inequalities in the workplace.... These few illustrations clearly show the gender inequalities in the United States of America.... For example, in America, it is apparent that women are underrepresented in the political arena as the society assumes that politics are mainly for men....
9 Pages (2250 words) Report

Social Divisions and Inequalities

This report "Social Divisions and inequalities" discusses factors such as childhood, step-parenting, narratives, parenting, and families.... The study based on the paper was the first British qualitative study of sociology.... The main sample used included 46 individuals retrieved from 23 step- clusters....
9 Pages (2250 words) Report
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us