...Sociology Health and Illness The medical definition of health is: the state of being whole and free from physical and mental disease or pain, so that all the parts of the body carry on their proper function". This is a negative definition where health is defined as to be free from pain and discomfort. (Critchley, 1978, p.784). The World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health (1947), states that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This is a positive definition which defines health as being fit and able to undertake reasonable task. The criticisms are that the definition deals with “a state rather than a process” and puts no boundaries on what is considered as ‘health’. (Macionis J. et al 2012 p. 741) The conditions recognised as illnesses differ quite significantly from one society to another. Illness is thought to be any obvious departure from a sickness that is subject to medical treatment. There is difference of opinion in most people mind between who think they are ill or and those who are really ill. In modern society doctors have the role of deciding who is truly ill. If the doctor decides that a person is ill then a series of benefits will follow either formal or informal. Formal help is where the doctor will give medical help such as treatment or time off work or college. Whereas informal help is like giving sympathy or release the ill person from household duties...
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...I will be looking at the effects of acute and chronic illness on society, particularly in Britain, and the differences between public and private healthcare in their treatment of these problems. Great Britain has a relatively high level of public expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of its GDP. In terms of its healthcare structure it is one of the most public systems as it has a National Health Service, thus offering free healthcare to all residents. The system differs greatly from the more market driven and private healthcare structure of the US. Because of the provision of free healthcare, the vast majority of people in Britain use public healthcare as opposed to the expensive private alternative. However, this does not mean that public healthcare in the UK is superior to other countries as the government struggles constantly with the cost of maintaining the NHS. This leads to a number of cost cutting initiatives, rationing and an inability to purchase the most expensive and advanced medical equipment. The British government also suffers with such problems as bed blocking as hospitals are over subscribed with patients, which leads to increased waiting times for ill people. These problems occur far less in private healthcare sector in the UK, which is of a high level, but it is difficult for the majority to afford. An acute illness is one, which begins and progresses rapidly such as a cold or flu. The person is fine one moment and in urgent need of medical help...
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...Introduction In this essay, I will be discussing a client that I cared for while I was on my placement practice. I had to fill in my inter-professional education book where i had to interview a client about his experience in the health care setting and how he is coping with his health and illness and the health care he is receiving whilst he is in the care of the National Health Service. I will be discussing his cultural needs and how it makes impacts on health and the impact it has on the client/ families psychological and social. This essay will show a non-judgemental description of the patient’s personality, family, cultural or social background. In this case study I have changed his name and will be referring to the patient as Mr Asim Khan to maintain confidentiality and identity. I will not give the name of the hospital/PCT. This is a breach of confidentiality policy and by the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC 2008). I choose Asim Khan as my chosen patient because I found him polite, and his social history very interesting, he was easy to talk to, and he was open about his medical condition and willing to discuss any questions I had regarding his condition. I also found out about his medical history and social background. I really appreciated that despite his ill condition and the pain he was going through, he still took time out to talk to me. Asim is a 27 year-old Pakistani Muslim man. He was born in Iran and moved to Pakistan 15 years ago with his family...
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...Mental Illness Ellen is a 35 year old laboratory technician, she is happily married and has a beautiful three-year-old daughter Emily. Unfortunately in the last three years she has been unable to enjoy her life or her family as well as she wants to. She has been suffering from a severe form of Postnatal Depression which has forced her to leave her job and spend eleven months in a psychiatric hospital. While now on the road to recovery, Ellen admits that the hardest part of her illness is coping with the attitude of others: "I had no history of mental illness prior to my daughter being born. I was happy and successful in life but now I find myself being treated as an alien. People, including family and friends, seem not to know what to say to me - so they say nothing. Little is known by the majority of folk about "clinical depression", so you're treated as an outcast". 1) Poor mental health is something which will probably affect everyone of us to some degree, either directly or indirectly, at sometime during our lives. 2) But despite the fact that mental disorder is classified as an "illness" which can be "treated" just like physical illness, many psychiatric patients can identify with Ellen's experience of feeling like an outcast. 3) Society can be very uncomfortable around those with mental health problems and as a result, there is a general reluctance among people to admit to mental distress or to reveal that one has been hospitalised, taken medication or had...
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...Mental health problems are extremely frequent during the recovery process. When people suffer from substance abuse and mental health disorders, we describe them as having a dual diagnosis disorder. Many people in recovery struggle with feelings of depression and anxiety before, during and after rehab. Additionally, many people who have a dual diagnosis struggle with bipolar disorder, panic disorder, schizophrenia and other personality disorders. If you find yourself fighting behavioral health issues at any stage of your recovery process, you are not alone. Understanding Dual Diagnosis and Mental Health Problems in Recovery For many people with major behavioral health disorders, self-medication leads to addiction. Frequently, the symptoms of mental health disorders are uncomfortable and alarming, particularly for people who have bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other personality disorders. Drinking or using drugs can be a way of coping and calming down symptoms such as voices, hallucinations or delusions. In fact, it is common for people to be diagnosed with mental health problems when they are in recovery for substance abuse. Qualified behavioral health professionals are able to help patients understand their illness and learn healthy coping mechanism that can reduce symptoms. For people with dual diagnosis, recovery can be extremely challenging. As a result, it is extremely important to remain in treatment and build a strong support group and relapse prevention...
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...This brief abstract is a concept note on the subject of sociology of health and illness. It is going to give a brief sketch background of medical sociology, highlight various definitions of what is health, illness and how the production, distribution and patterns of diseases are influenced by the context in which they occur. The biomedical understanding of health and illness was entirely in the context of bacteriology and immunology dominated the subject of heath care systems for centuries. The history of medical sociology began in the 1800 with extensive contributions of Virchow to social medicine (Virchow, 1864). The resurgence of medical sociology and its institutionalization emerged in the 1960s and 1970s following the deficiencies of biomedicine to account various diseases which came about on the eve of industrialization and urbanization. Some diseases have their roots in the economic, social, cultural, political and environmental context. It is in these backdrops among other reasons that the sociology of health and illness gained recognition and institutionalization. Medical sociology did not discredit biomedical explanations and practice but have attributed that production, patterns, distribution and reproduction of health and illness is socially constructed (Waitzkin et al., 2001; Foucault, 1977; White, 2006). Sociology of health and Illness uses sociological perspectives such as the Sick role (Parsons, 1951), historical materialist approaches (Engels, 1844/1973), interactionist...
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...Mental illness is an important topic that is rarely spoken or taught in today’s society. About half of people in the world have a mental health disorder, yet most people don’t know what it really means to have a serious health problem. There are numerous theories on why these disorders happen; additionally, some disorders in the world are still a mystery to the science community and also millions of people share these personal experiences through writing. What is Mental Health and its comparison to Mental Illness Numerous people in today’s society have yet to fully understand what mental illness is; therefore, they really need to understand the meaning of the word. According to the article “What is Mental Illness,” mental health is foundation for thinking, communication, learning, self esteem, and it also plays a key role in close relationships. Sadly people with mental illness suffer with thinking skills, learning new things, expressing emotion, and it also causes problems in their social lives, but this does not mean that people with disorders can’t manage their lives on their own....
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...influences an individual’s perception of illness and health.” 1000 wrds There are many definitions for 'culture' with the anthropologist Sir Edward Tylor (1871) cited by Ravalico (2006) defining it to mean 'that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a member of society.' Culture also influences how one perceives their health and the idea of what it means to have ‘good health.’ One community group whose culture strongly impacts on individual’s perception of illness and health is the Australian Aboriginal community. Aboriginal Australians have a shorter life expectancy than others (ABS 2008, Shaouli et al 2011) which threatens Aboriginal culture as ‘elders’are the transmitters of Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal people experience worse health and more disease with the latter being three times more than that for the total Australian population (NATSIS 2008 cited by ABS 2008). Culture is one of the many social determinants of health and affects health (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall and Bailie, 2007). Some indigenous people are fatalistic about their health (Thackrah and Scott 2011) although most can access medical help when needed providing they trusted their medical practitioners (ABS 2008, DATSIPD 2009). Other obstacles include language, lack of public transport and telecommunications (Shaouli et al 2011). Therefore, the impact of culture on individuals’ health is crucial to investigate as Aboriginal...
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...common-sense model of self-regulation of health and illness was developed in the 1980s by Howard Leventhal and his colleagues (Diefenbach & Leventhal, 1996). It was based on Leventhal’s research from the prior decade that studied the effect of fear in relation to health related behaviors. The theory has various titles such as the, Self Regulation Theory, Common Sense Model of Illness Representation or Leventhal’s Theory (Hale et al, 2007). For ease of communication it will be referred to as the Common Sense Model (CSM). It’s primary goal and function is to explain how a person processes an illness threat. The CSM is centered on the individual and his or her idea of health and illness. It works under the premise that the individual is “an active problem solver.” CSM also theories an individual’s representation of the illness will be the primary cause of their actions and behavior and the process of illness representation will lead the individual to make common sense health behaviors. (Diefenbach & Leventhal, 1996). Self-regulation is the processing of information by a patient regarding their health and the actions that an individual takes to return to a normal state of health. A stimuli such as a symptom of an illness or a diagnosis starts a three-phase feedback cycle of self-regulation. First, the individual constructs a cognitive “representation” of the illness. Secondly, the individual acts and “copes” with the illness. In the third stage, the individual...
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...common-sense model of self-regulation of health and illness was developed in the 1980s by Howard Leventhal and his colleagues (Diefenbach & Leventhal, 1996). It was based on Leventhal’s research from the prior decade that studied the effect of fear in relation to health related behaviors. The theory has various titles such as the, Self Regulation Theory, Common Sense Model of Illness Representation or Leventhal’s Theory (Hale et al, 2007). For ease of communication it will be referred to as the Common Sense Model (CSM). It’s primary goal and function is to explain how a person processes an illness threat. The CSM is centered on the individual and his or her idea of health and illness. It works under the premise that the individual is “an active problem solver.” CSM also theories an individual’s representation of the illness will be the primary cause of their actions and behavior and the process of illness representation will lead the individual to make common sense health behaviors. (Diefenbach & Leventhal, 1996). Self-regulation is the processing of information by a patient regarding their health and the actions that an individual takes to return to a normal state of health. A stimuli such as a symptom of an illness or a diagnosis starts a three-phase feedback cycle of self-regulation. First, the individual constructs a cognitive “representation” of the illness. Secondly, the individual acts and “copes” with the illness. In the third stage, the individual “appraises”...
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...approach to mental health/illness within Australia from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. You will need to include at least three (3) government enquiries/investigations which have helped shape government direction in the provision of mental health services. A Federal Government Inquiry released in the same year as the 1955 State Grants (Mental Institutions) Act provided large amounts money to institutions for capital works, was damning of the ‘inadequate’ mental health system, highlighting low standards of care, abuse and overcrowding (Stoller, 1955). As a result of this, there was a wider general interest in mental health. In what could be the beginnings of deinstitutionalisation in Australia, as the report also called for an increase in community services. Funding provided by the government in the seventies was pivotal to the establishment of community mental health services being more assessable with outreach and after care programs being setup in hospitals. This also heralded the beginnings of many Non government and independent services. * In 1983, the Richmond Report, release in New South Wales, advocated strongly for further deinstitutionalisation and an increase in community services for people with psychiatric disabilities. It suggested a change in funding arrangements from hospitals to community based care services, the expansion of integrated community based services, the separation of developmental disability services from mental health services and a decrease...
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...P3 Trends and Patterns in health and illness in three social groups. There are many significant differences in humanity and illness rates which continues to occur among income groups, a section of the community whose income falls within a certain range, and social classes, individuals and groups are considered on the sources of respect and status which is learnt mostly through financial success and the growth of wealth. Social class may also refer to any particular level in such a grading, in most developed countries. The fact reminds us of the significance of social and economic causes of health. There is small uncertainty that the low average of living and persistence of total poverty in the developing world are the main factors of health in developing countries. We have the knowledge that our life routes are socially and economically planned and is genetically determined, which changes the determinants of population health into a social science. Medical sciences speak about the biological paths involved in diseases. There are many opportunities for treatment, but so far health is a social creation and some forms of social organization tend to be healthier than others. To advance our understanding of health all depends on collective research. There was change in public health and there was a sudden rise in life expectancy in developing societies. Life expectancy in more developed societies has increased at the rate of two to three years added to life in the 20th century. The...
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...consequences. Australians suffered extreme trauma, both physical and psychological. These effects were particularly present throughout the ordeal; however, they were also ongoing for many years after. During captivity in the Changi, there was a dramatic increase in illness and mortality rates. The major factors for illness were the inadequate diet through lack of quality and quantity. Secondly, the hazardous and excess labour...
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...influence of government on factors that contribute to the current patterns of health and illness in the UK – Over the course of the last 50 years in the UK the government (England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland) have made a great effort in order to improve the overall health of the general population in the UK. This has been achieved through the use of making the general population more aware of the dangers to their health and what they are along with they can do in order to improve it, thereby making better informed decisions in regards to their health when it comes to things such as diet, road safety (driving), exercise, smoking and education. The greatest influence that the government has had on the population in general on patterns of health over the last 50 years has been to increase the awareness on the negative effects smoking can have on a person’s health. The ill effects of smoking were originally discovered in 1961 and from that point onwards the government have worked continuously in order to stop people from smoking in order to prevent individuals from dying. The first government initiative was put into place in 1971 which led to manufactures agreeing to display on their packaging compulsory anti-smoking adverts, such as “smoking kills”. This new initiative made a significant impact on raising people’s awareness in the UK about the damaging effects smoking can cause to their health. Adverts promoting smoking were officially band in 2002 through the use...
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...DRUG DIARY If you haven’t already, start your drug diary. A good way to start is to get a small book with alphabetical tabs/ markings in which you can record medications according to their generic names. Here are some common medications you might want to start with: Morphine, Aspirin, Metoprolol, Digoxin, Paracetamol, Metoclopramide Information you should include: Generic name Trade name Classification Dose Route Frequency Action Side effects Precautions Patient education Here is an example for you: Generic Name: Glyceryl Trinitrate Brand names: Transiderm-Nitro, Anginine Classification: Anti-anginal Agent Dose: 600-900mcg Route: Sublingual or Buccal Frequency: Taken at first sign of angina or before activities known to induce angina Action: -Relaxes smooth muscle, including vascular muscle, causing vasodilation -Reduces myocardial oxygen demand -Reduces preload and afterload -Effective in 2-3 minutes Side effects: -Throbbing headache -Dizziness and tachycardia -Hypotension, syncope Precautions: Contraindicated if there is marked hypotension or cerebral hemorrhage. Patient Education: -Sit down when taking tablet and for 20 minutes after -Don’t swallow the tablet – allow to dissolve -Take half a tablet first -Keep tablets airtight in dark container out of sunlight -Tell family where your medications are kept -Take Anginine with you on outings A tip: Drug knowledge is much easier to develop...
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