Health: A Major Social Issue

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Recommended: discuss the social determinants of health

Health is something that many would not associate as being a social issue, yet many sociologists have argued that it is a major social issue. They argue that the way we experience and understand health is dependent upon society. In 1946, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health as, “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being” (WHO, 2003). This definition is very holistic in the sense that it encompasses all aspects of a person’s life. It is also very idealistic and unattainable for most people. Health can also be seen as, “the absence of illness”, which alternatively is a more traditional view, that views disease and illness as a deviation from the bodies norms (Blaxter, 2010, p5). There is no definition of health that is subscribed to by everyone, and how people understand it is shaped by society. Although health is experienced in the body, we relate to it through social institutions such as medicine and our status in society can have a profound effect on our chances of being healthy. Through looking at the different ways health relates to society, I will attempt to show how health is a social issue as well as a biological one.
When the NHS was introduced in 1948, officials thought that after treating the backlog of unhealthy people the demand for healthcare would decline, as everyone would become healthier (Moore, 2008, p281). This was however a mistaken assumption and instead demand for healthcare rose. This was because standards of health changed with better healthcare, so people constructed a new idea of what “healthy” was. This shows that people view health relative to the people around them and that health is not fixed, but is instead subject to society. Dubos noted in his book, “Mirage of Health”...

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..., D. 1998., Independent Enquiries into Inequalities in Health. London: Stationary Office.
•Macionis, J,. Plumber, K., 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 5th ed. Harlow: Pearson.
•Siegler, V., 2011. Social inequalities in alcohol-related adult mortality by National Statistics Socio-economic Classification.[pdf] Available at: http://ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/hsq/health-statistics-quarterly/no--50--summer-2011/social-inequalities-in-alcohol-related-adult-mortality-by-national-statistics-socio-economic-classification--england-and-wales--2001-03. [Accessed 19th december 2013].
• Conrad, P. and Schneider, J., 1980. Deviance and Medicalisation: From bad to sickness. St Louis: Mosby.­
•Fox, N., Ward, K., O'Rourke, A., 2005. Pr-Anorexia, Weight Loss Drugs and the Internet: An Anti-Recovery Explanatory Model Of Anorexia. Sociology of Health and Illness, Vol 27 (7): pp944-971.

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