Illness continued
Today
Measuring Health
Health in the U.S.
Health Globally
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
We attach labels (some very
negative) to various illnesses
• Ex: AIDS, mental illness, physical
disabilities
• May be treated differently
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
clinical depression
obsessive-compulsive disorder
attention-deficit disorder
anorexia
bulimia
bipolar disorder
schizophrenia
post-traumatic stress disorder
social anxiety disorder
post-partum depression
Stigma related to mental illness can be harmful
•
•
•
•
•
Others don’t understand - stress
Fear of getting help
Discrimination at work or school
Bullying, physical violence, or harassment
Health insurance may not cover needs
Epidemiology
(epa-dimi-ology)
Study of patterns in
frequency of
-sickness
-injury
-death
Measure health based on 3 factors
1. Fertility:
birthrate
2. Mortality:
# of deaths
3. Morbidity:
rate of diseases
Infant mortality:
Rate of infant deaths for children less than 1 year old
Strong indication of health of a nation
High in the U.S.
Health Trends in the U.S.
• #1 Leading cause of death
Heart disease
• 2nd
Cancer
• Deaths from both have decreased since 1950’s
Source: CDC (Center for Disease Control)
Health Trends in the U.S.
• U.S. spends more $ on health care than any other
country
Source: CDC (Center for Disease Control)
Solutions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
National health insurance
Compulsory, employer-financed health insurance
HMO’s and Managed Care
PPO’s
New health care practitioners
Self-care and changing life-styles
Medicare and Medicaid
Think of pros and cons of each option
Which solutions seems best to you? Why?
Which solution seems worst? Why?
The Growing Problem of Obesity
• 2/3 of U.S. adults are
overweight or obese
• # of overweight
children and has grown
12% (since 1970’s)
Use your sociological imagination
Childhood obesity: At 8 years of
age, Connor weighs 218 pounds.
Individual Perspective
Focus on personal
characteristics
•
•
•
•
biology
genetics
personality
personal characteristics
Sociological Perspective
Focus on the influence of
society
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
media
corporations/companies
education/schooling
time, place
culture, religion
government (laws, policies)
peers, family
technology
Solutions
Network For A Healthy California
www.cdph.ca.gov
• Advertising
• School
education
programs
• Resources
on website
Visual Essay/ Media Analysis
Due next week April 24th: Visual essay/Media Analysis
7 points
Work on this ahead of time
Documentaries about Health
Aids/HIV in Africa
AIDS - leading cause of death in
sub-Saharan Africa
killing estimated 1.3 million
people in 2007
In the same year, 1.7 million
became infected with HIV
(Source: UNAIDS 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic)
Discovery Channel REPORT
Min 24:10-42:47
Aids/HIV in Africa Solutions
AIDS in Africa: Keep A Child Alive
http://keepachildalive.org/
Next Class
April 22nd Mon: Media. Read pages 282-294
Due next week April 24th: Visual essay/Media analysis
Universal Health Care Availability
Have some form of universal health care
Attempting to implement universal health care
No universal health care
Source: World Health Organization
What does society expect of us if we “call in sick?”
The Sick Role
1. Don’t punish people for being sick
2. People around try to help (chicken
soup)
3. Sick person should try to get better rest
4. Follow doctors orders – go to
doctor, take medications
Critiqued because it does not always fit well, depending on the
illness
Health Belief Model:
Conditions for taking care of your own health
1. Must believe your are risk
2. Must believe the problem is serious
3. Must believe prevention will change risk significantly
4. Must believe they can overcome financial, emotional,
or physical barriers