Mr. Manasseh MvulaBSc N IV student UNZA

Sociology and Nursing

Factors affecting society’s health and

services

• At the end of this lecture, a student should have knowledge on the factors impacting on society’s health and services.

General objectives

• At the end of this lecture, a student should be able to;– Outline factors that impact on society’s

health and services.– State the important role of a nurse in

addressing factors that impact on society’s health and services.

Specific Objectives

• A society is an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization.

• It is for this reason therefore that this extended social group has factors that influence its own health and services

Introduction

Socio-economical– This is one of the major factors that impact

the society’s health and status. – On the individual level, unemployment and

poverty pose a huge challenge on health in that people find it hard to access health services because of lack of funds.

– This makes them to access health services only when they are sick.

Factors influencing society’s health and services

– On the national level, poor economic status has resulted in increased preventable disease burden.

– This is because the govt. concentrates on curative and not preventive measures.

– Health facilities are usually inaccessible because of poor road network and long distances.

Cont’d

• Religion is defined by many sociologists as a cultural system of common beliefs and rituals that provides the sense of ultimate meaning and purpose by creating an idea of reality that is sacred, all-encompassing and supernatural (Giddens, 2009).

• In simpler terms, religion is defined as the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

Religion

• It is one of the forces that have a major impact on the society’s health and services.

• E.g. the Zionists do not accept any form of vaccination because they do not believe in modern medicine.

• This means that cases of preventable diseases will continue to be on the increase.

Cont’d

• A way of life of a social group; the group’s total man made environment, including all the material and non-material products of group life transmitted from generation to generation (Toit, et al., 2005).

• Like religion, it has a greater influence on how people will regard health and services.

• Culture will also influence our health seeking behaviour.

• Some cultural practices are good but some are very bad, e.g. sexual cleansing.

Culture

• Relates to the legal system of the society.

• Has to do with laws that govern the society.

• A law is a set of principles, and regulations which are established by an authority or by custom and is enforceable by a legal system such as a court.

• It differs from an act in that an act is a bill which is acted upon by a legislative body for the purpose of creating a law.

Legal

• Laws can be constitutional or customary.

• They help shape and protect the society and sometimes advocate for the rights of citizens.

• In Zambia, there has been introduction of several laws in form of acts such as the public health act and the food and drugs act.

• The consumer act has now discouraged the use of tertrazzine in food stuffs and has instead promoted fortification of commodities like sugar and mealie-meal with vitamin A.

Cont’d

• Art or science of govt. or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.

• The political will of the society is a single major factor affecting the society’s health and services.

• Politics determine how much resources should be allocated to the health sector.

• If funding is not sufficient, the health sector will not have enough resources to run and will in turn provide substandard care to the people.

Politics

• is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially in settings like a school or university.

• Educated people are thought to have the ability to practice health promotion activities than people with no education who cannot even read.

• Ignorant people are less likely to seek preventable care because they cannot understand messages from the media.

Education

• Something that somebody believes in or a statement, principle or doctrine that a person or group accepts as true.

• It is also defined as the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premises to be true.

• Beliefs also impact the society’s health and services.

• Bad beliefs impact negatively on health and services as they tend to discourage health seeking behaviour in the society.

• E.g. smearing semen on the baby by the father is a bad practice as it predisposes the baby to infections.

Beliefs

• Taboos refer to the more serious and compulsory prescriptions (Toit, et al., 2005).

• They are norms that if disobeyed, the moral integrity of the society may be weakened.

• Their contravention therefore causes severe shock and anger and is strongly condemned.

• Some taboos impact negatively on health and services.

• In Zambia, it is a taboo for a man to witness his wife delivering.

• This deprives a labouring woman of the much needed psychological care.

Taboos

• These are the less serious and less important customary prescriptions.

• Contravention of folkways does not arouse strong feelings in others, sometimes no more than a raised eyebrow.

• They may impact negatively on the society depending on their nature eg, falling pregnant a month after giving birth.

Folkways

• These are the most influential practices in the society and tend to either promote or discourage health seeking behaviours.

• Some pregnant women in labour are told to take traditional syntocinon to precipitate labour.

• This results in complications such as cervical tears and foetal distress.

• Such practices negatively impact the society’s health and services.

Traditional health practices

• The most important role of a nurse in addressing such factors firstly is to know the factors themselves.

• Once they are known, a nurse should not at any time attempt to condemn bad cultural practices for example.

• A nurse should give adequate health education and counselling so that people know what to do.

• A nurse should encourage some things that impact society’s health and services positively.

Role of a nurse

• Factors that affect society’s health and services are many.

• These include, but not limited to, culture, socioeconomic status, traditional practices, taboos and legal issues among others.

• The nurse however plays a very important role in addressing such factors therefore, a nurse should take time to learn and know them so that he/she has the basis for health education.

Take Home Points

• Ajayi, IFA, Goma, L.K.K and Johnson, G.A (1996) The African experience with higher education London,

• Giddens A, (2009), Sociology, 6th edition, polity press, Cambridge.

• John B and Senga B (2004) Sociology and Health Care, 2nd edition, Elsevier Limited, Churchill Livingston

• Staden S.J and Toit D.A (2000), Nursing sociology, 2nd edition, Van Schaik Publishers, Pretoria

References

Have a blessed day

END OF THE LECTURE