Transcript Medicine Chapter 19 Henslin’s Sociology: A Down To Earth Approach Sociology and the Study of Medicine What is the role of sociology in the study of.

Medicine
Chapter 19
Henslin’s Sociology: A Down To Earth
Approach
Sociology and the Study of Medicine
What is the role of sociology in the
study of medicine?
Sociologists study medicine as a social
institution.
As practiced in the United States, three of
its primary characteristics are;
 Professionalization
 Bureaucracy
 The profit motive
The Symbolic Interactionist
Perspective
What is the Symbolic Interactionist perspective on
health and illness?
Health is not only a biological matter; but also it
is intimately related to society.
Illness is also far from an objective matter, for
illness is always viewed from the framework of
culture.
The definitions applied to physical and mental
conditions vary from one group to another
The Functionalist Perspective
What is the functionalist perspective on health and
illness?
Functionalists stress that in return for being
excused from their usual, responsible activities,
people have to accept the sick role.
They must assume responsibility for seeking
competent medical help and cooperate in getting
well, so they can quickly resume normal activities
The Conflict Perspective
What is the conflict perspective
on health and illness?
Health care is one of the scarce resources over
which groups compete.
On a global level, health care follows the
stratification that we studied in Chapter 9.
The best health care is available in the dominant
nations, the worst in the dependent nations
Medicine in the U.S.
In the American colonies, no training or licensing was
necessary if one wanted to call oneself a doctor.
Even until the early 1900s, medical training was a hitor-miss affair.
In 1910, the education of physicians came under the
control of a group of men who eliminated most of
their competition and turned medicine into a
monopoly and the largest business in the United
States.
Historical Patterns of Health
How have health patterns changed over time?
Patterns of disease in the United States have
changed so extensively that of today's top ten
killers, five did not even show up on the 1900 top
ten list.
Because most Americans live longer than their
ancestors did, we can conclude that
contemporary Americans are healthier.
For mental illness, we have no idea how today
compares with the past, for we have no baselines
from which to make comparisons
Issues in Health Care
How does treating health care as a
commodity lead to social inequalities?
Because health care is a commodity to be
sold to the highest bidder, the United
States has a two-tier system of medical
care in which the poor receive inferior
health care for both their mental and
physical illnesses
What are some other problems in
U.S. health care?
One problem is defensive medicine, which refers
to medical procedures that are done for the
physician's benefit, not for the benefit of the
patient.
Intended to protect physicians from lawsuits,
these tests and consultations add huge amounts
to the nation's medical bill.
Other problems are incompetence,
depersonalization, conflict of interest, medical
fraud, and sexism
Why is medically assisted suicide an
issue now?
Due to advanced technology, people can
be kept technically alive even when they
have no brain waves.
Physicians who openly assist in suicides
have come under severe criticism.
Research findings on euthanasia in
Holland have fueled this controversy.
What attempts have been made to cut
medical costs?
Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and
diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) are among the
measures that have been taken to reduce medical
costs.
National health insurance, which has run into
immense opposition, has been proposed.
The most controversial proposal is to ration
medical care.
Threats to Health
What are some threats to the health of Americans?
1. AIDS - is declining in the United States but is
devastating countries in Africa
2. The globalization of disease
3. Alcohol and nicotine
4. Disabling environments
5. Unethical experiments


Tuskegee syphilis experiments
Cold War radiation experiments
Global View of AIDS:
HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
Background
 28.5 million living with HIV/AIDS at end-2001
 2.2 million deaths in 2001
 3.5 million new infections in 2001
 12 countries have infection rates of 10
percent or more among 15-49 year olds
 11 million AIDS orphans in 2001; UNAIDS
predicts 20 million by 2010
In Uganda:
 To date, 2 million have died of HIV AIDS
 1 in 6 children have been orphaned
 40 Million orphaned children by 2010
 Whole villages wiped out…
 Cultural traditions lost as whole
generations are dying
 Who is left to raise the children?
US Woman and AIDS:
In the US:
As of June 2001, African Americans and Hispanics represented 51
percent of AIDS cases reported among males and 77 percent of
those in females.
As of June 2001, 58 percent of all women reported with AIDS are
African American and 20 percent are Hispanic.
African American children represent 58 percent of all pediatric AIDS
cases.
Of the 194 pediatric AIDS cases reported between July 2000 and
June 2001, 163 (84 percent) were in African Americans and
Hispanics.
In 1999, AIDS accounted for an estimated 50 percent of deaths
among African Americans and 18 percent among Hispanics.
It is the leading cause of death among African-American men
ages 25-44.
The Search for Alternatives
Are there alternatives to our current health care
system?
The primary alternative discussed here is a
change in focus from treatment to prevention.
Other alternatives may be found by examining
health care systems in other countries.
Health care in Sweden, Russia, and China…
The Future of Medicine
How will the practice of medicine change?
Genomics is going to change the face of medical
practice.
Knowledge of our genetic structure will allow
designer medicines, the treatment of diseases
before they appear, and the growth of
replacement organs, including hearts
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