Medical Sociology

Functionalism: Social Stability Members must be healthy to perform

roles• Medicine as a system to control health and

illness in society• Creates norms and controls behavior

• Sick Role• Gatekeepers• Physicians and Parents

Symbolic Interaction: Meanings• Cultural Definitions of Health–Change over time–Depend on social environment

• Labeling and Social Stigma

• Patient-Physician Interaction

Conflict Perspective: Social Inequality• Medicine as a Scarce Social Resource• Stratification or Two Tiered System

– Life expectancy rates– Infant mortality rates

Fact Book/Life Expectancy/Infant Mortality

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2010/a101013.html http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db09.htm

Conflict PerspectiveGlobal Stratification

Most Industrialized Countries

• Lifestyle Diseases

Least Industrialized Countries

•Poor Infrastructure Malaria, malnutrition, parasites, dehydration

United States: Social Issues• Health Care Costs: 17.6% of GDP – Technology– Malpractice – Uninsured (young adults 30%)– Aging population

http://nchc.org/issue-areas/insurance

• Depersonalization of Medicine• Patients as objects• Insurance Paperwork• Physician Shortage

Medicalization of Society -Turning certain behaviors into a medical condition

Medicalization of Deviance (Henslin)

-Gives medical professionals power and authority -Ignores cultural and societal stressors -Places responsibility and cause on the individual

Pill Popping Culture Pharmaceutical Industryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh99CN5tLrc

Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM)http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx

Cosmetic Procedures Medical MarijuanaErectile Dysfunction, Female Sexual Dysfunction Gender and Identity DisorderAddictionsIntermittent Explosive Disorder*Attention Deficit Disorder Parental Attention Deficit*Anxiety Disorder Conduct DisorderSexual DeviantsImpulse Control DisorderRelational Disorder*Oppositional Defiant Disorder, etc.

Threats to Health• Obesity Epidemic

• 31% of adults obese–California 23.2%–300,000 related deaths annually– http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

• Practice Using the Sociological Perspective

Healthy Lifestyle• People reporting 6-7 of practices have better health

and live longer than people who practice fewer than four. (Alameda County Study)

• 1. 7-8 hours of sleep per night• 2. Eating breakfast everyday• 3. Seldom if ever eating snacks• 4. Controlling one’s weight• 5. Exercising• 6. Limiting alcohol consumption• 7. Never having smoked cigarettes

And: F _ _ _ _ D _