Medicine and Health
Kelsea Toseki and Megan Muffly
Thesis

Medicine and healthcare are important
issues that impact society both in the United
States and around the world.
Definitions

Medicine


One of the major
social institutions that
sociologists study
A society’s organized
ways of dealing with
sickness and injury

Health

A human condition
measured by the
following components
 Physical
 Mental
 Social
 Spiritual
*The definitions of health and illness vary from culture to
culture, as do the components of health*
The Sick Role

4 Elements to the Sick
Role
1.
2.
3.
4.
Not held responsible
Exempt from normal
responsibilities
Don’t like the role
Get competent help
The Sick Role



Sick role is
controversial– are you
sick or not?
Parents and physicians
are primary
gatekeepers
Gender differences

Women are more
comfortable claiming
sick role
Professionalization





Education becomes
rigorous
Physicians claim a
theoretical
understanding of
illness
Regulate themselves
Claim to be doing a
service to society
Take authority over
clients.
Monopoly




Controlling education
and licensing
Fee-for-Service
 Makes medicine a
business
Drive up price of
healthcare
Government funded
healthcare
 Medicare and
Medicaid
Physical Health
Top 10 causes of death in the U.S., 2001
Types of Health
Physical Health
 Body’s fitness





Weight
BMI
Strength
Endurance
Immune System
Mental Health
 Emotional and
Psychological well-being
 Deal with and recover
from difficult situations



Stress
Confidence
Human Interaction
Issues in Healthcare



Government provided
healthcare
Social Inequality
Malpractice Suits







Defensive medicine
Medical Incompetence
Depersonalization
Conflict of Interest
Medical Fraud
Sexism
Medically Assisted Suicide
Threats to Health


HIV/AIDS
Globalization of
Disease


Drugs




Epidemics
Alcohol
Nicotine
Disabling
Environments
Experiments
Alternatives

Treatment vs.
Prevention


Spend more money on
prevention?
Global Perspective
Interview / Statistics
Universal Healthcare??
Yes
No
Works Cited






Annandale, Ellen. "Book - Ellen Annandale - The Sociology of Health and Medicine."
Welcome to Polity - leading international publisher in the social sciences and humanities www.politybooks.com. 15 May 2009 http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=0745613578
“Balanced Politics.org – Universal Healy Care (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against).”
BalancedPolitics.org – Free Balanced, Non-Partisan Discussion of Political & Social Issues
for Debate (Pros and Cons – Decision Making Politics). 25 Mar. 2009. 13 May 2009
http://www.balancedpolitics.org/universal_health_care.htm.
Category. “The Mind and the Body are the Same Thing.” Mental Health – Information on
Mental Health. 27 Nov. 2003. 13 May 2009
http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/mindandbody/a/mindbody.htm.
Henslin, James M.. Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (6th Edition).
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2004.
"Introduction to Sociology/Health and Medicine - Wikibooks, collection of open-content
textbooks." Wikibooks. 9 May 2009. 11 May 2009
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Sociology/Health_and_Medicine
Prosser, Brenton. "Emerging From the Shadow of Medicine - Health Sociology Review."
Health Sociology Review - Health Sociology Review. 15 May 2009 http://hsr.econtentmanagement.com/archives/vol/15/issue/5/article/119/emerging-from-the-shadowof-medicine