Ch. 15-The Body, Medicine & Health
I.
Health
The way we perceive and treat our bodies reflects our socialization
and cultural norms.
a.
cultural patterns define health, eg. Obesity
b.
cultural standards of health change over time, eg. Smoking, sun
exposure
c.
a society’s technology affects health, infectious vs chronic
illness
d.
social inequality affects health-low income often die early-in
some countries less than 50 years old, high income die later
often of chronic illness
II.
The Social Determinants of Health and Illness
Important determinants of health outcomes include nutrition, clean
water, lifestyle choices and social position. Stress can affect health.
The best predictor of one’s health is whether or not you are wealthy.
During the 20th century, U.S. life expectancy increased by 30 years
due to social reforms (such as wage and labor laws, housing codes)
and increased prosperity.
Social Class and Health: There is a relationship between social class
and health – the lower one’s social class, the poorer one’s health is
likely to be. This relationship holds across countries and over time.
Specific causes include:
Living conditions – such as poverty, pollution, cultural value placed
on risky behaviors like smoking or drinking and drug use – that affect
health.
Limited access to information on healthy lifestyles, and limited
disposable capital to invest in such lifestyles.
The presence or absence of health care in general, and high-quality
health care in particular, plays a huge role in health inequalities.
Race and Health: racism plays a major role in health-related issues;
the relationship between race and health is closely related to that
between social class and health.
Racism and discrimination often block opportunities that would
enable blacks to seek more prestigious occupations where better
health insurance is available. Dealing with racism takes toll on the
body (stress). African-American infants are more than twice as likely
to die as white infants (see www.unnaturalcauses.org). There is
institutional discrimination that operates within the health care
system. (breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and race)
Racial minorities are often subjected to poor living conditions where
exposure to contaminants and pollution is more likely.
Latino paradox-recent Latino immigrants have the best overall health
than the rest of the U.S. population. This advantage disappears with
the next generation. (see www.unnaturalcauses.org)
Gender and Health: While women live longer, there is a
widespread, although not fully accepted, view that they have poorer
health than men during their lifetimes.
Women live longer than men. Women are more likely to be treated
until their condition improves. Women seek health care more often
than men. There is medicalization of normal life processes such as
childbirth or menopause, while other crucial areas such as coronary
disease in women are ignored.
Health Care Reform in the US: the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act of 2010 was enacted into law to begin to address
the kinds of problems in the health care system that are related to
social class differences. However, many political factions have
decreased the strengths of the Act, and insurance companies have
maintained their profit margins and lobbying positions as well. Many
companies are keeping employees at less than full-time work to avoid
providing health insurance.
Growing Global Inequality
Women and children tend to be the most vulnerable in terms of health
disparities, due to many factors, including poverty, limited access to
health care services, low educational attainments, and inadequate
sanitation, nutrition, and housing. In many parts of the world there is
limited access to clean water.