Sociological Theory and Studying Sociology. Defining Health and Medicine WHO’s definition of Health: A state of complete physical, mental, and social.

Sociological Theory and Studying Sociology

Defining Health and MedicineWHO’s definition of Health:

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease, or infirmity.

Medicine: “The Greatest Benefit to Mankind”

Hippocrates- “The art has three factors, the disease, the patient, the physician.”

The differenceMedical Sociology is divided into two

subfields with some differences:Sociology of Medicine

Sociology in Medicine

DifferentiationSociology of Medicine

Sociology in Medicine

Social Epidemiology

Sociology of Health and other subsequent fields

Theoretical PerspectivesStructural Functionalism, Conflict Theory,

Feminist and Symbolic Interactionism:Review of basic premises

Functionalism: the influence of the rest of society on individual health patterns and status.

Durkheim and social processesBeing constrained by laws and customs of

society. Durkheim’s suicide- handout

Durkheim’s suicideEgoistic: people are detached from society and

are suddenly on their own, overwhelmed by stressAnomic: people suffer a sudden dislocation of

normative systems where their norms and values are no longer relevant

Altruistic: people feel themselves so strongly integrated into a demanding society that their only escape seems to be suicide

Fatalistic: people kills themselves because their situation is hopeless-not developed by Durkheim

Examples for each?

Functionalism cont...Brenner’s study of heart disease, stoke and

kidney failureThesis: there are few areas of our lives not

intimately affected by the state of economy. Heart attacks and recessionStress causes exposure to risk factors

associated with these particular health phenomenon.

Rates of employment and mental hospital admissions

The provocation hypothesis and the uncovering hypothesis as explanations for his findings.

Conflict TheoryText: the unequal social arrangements and

racialization present in our society and others.

Power differences present in society and the structures within society.

The main focus is on stratification and power struggles for those who are considered “proletariats.”

Access to medical care and medicineThe term medicalization- definition

Medicalization and CapitalismMedicalization: the process that defines a

condition or activity as a disease or an illness; treatment of the conditions is then considered the responsibility of the medical professional.

The notion of social control in Conflict theory and in the process of medicalization

Article “Medicalization and Social Control”The definition of medicalization- too many

variations and no concrete definition available.

The social factors responsible for part of the medicalization process

Factors contributing to MedicalizationSecularizationThe Medical ProfessionSocial Control-

Durkheim, Parsons, and other theorists- an issue of power

Consequences of MedicalizationAssumption of medical moral neutralityDomination by experts Individualization of social problemsDepoliticization of behaviourDislocation of responsibilityUsing powerful technologiesThe “exclusion of evil.”

Feminist TheoriesThe oppression of women in the medical

profession The oppression of women as objects of

medical practiceMidwifery a good example

Symbolic InteractionismCooley, Thomas and GoffmanMicro level perspective and all focus on

interactions and behaviours of individuals. The theory of the looking-glass selfThe basic components of the theory:

We see ourselves in our imagination as we think we appear to the other person

We see in our imagination the other person’s judgment of our appearance.

As a result of what we see in our imagination about how we are viewed by the other person, we experience some sort of self-feeling, such as pride or humiliation.

SI Theory Cont...Thomas and the definition of the situationThe same crisis will not produce the same

effect uniformly in all people. Crises lie in the interaction between a

situation and a person’s capacities to meet it. Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis- life as a

theatreWe live in worlds of social encounter in which

we act out a line of behaviour- our scripts. The maintenance of face is a condition of

interaction.

Critical Race TheoriesThe relation to the body being different for

those of different races and ethnicities.The role of differentiation and inequality in

medicine for those of different races/ethnicities.

The article “Describing the White Ethnic Group.”

Stark differences in life expectancy and morbidity rates.

Social group differences in terms of support and buffering of stress.

Post-Modernist ThinkingThere is no truth to our claims and there is

no way to get to truthAll arguments are opinion based and follow

rules of discourse to attain truth. Discourse of Medical profession and the

“The Birth of the Clinic”The Body and medical profession’s labelling

of disease

Methodology in Sociology of MedicineBased on the theoretical orientationFunctionalists and Conflict theorists can use

either quantitative or qualitative methods.

Same is said for most theoretical frameworks

SI and Post Modernists focus on interactions and use mainly qualitative and content analyses for their methdologies.