Introduction With movements made by the governments and medical professionals of developed countries in the interests of giving patients more choice, the definition of “healthy,” especially in contemporary society, has become subjective (Freemantle and Hill 2002, Armstrong 1995, Bury 2008, Van Krieken et al. 2006: 379-380). Variations in interpretation appear between groups divided along socio-political, demographical lines, or even between individuals themselves (Freemantle and Hill 2002: 864, Heath 2005: 954, Blaxter 2000:44, Van Krieken et al. 2006). This ambiguity has underscored debates and conflicts in recent years between patients, academics, politicians, and medical practitioners on issues of medical authority, the extent of involvement in the decision making process over personal health as well as the health of others related to them through social structures and institutions (Van Krieken et al. 2006, Blaxter 2000, Bury 2008, White 2002). This essay will attempt to illustrate how “health” is a social phenomenon through the examination of power and inequality. It will focus on the social causes and effects of medicalisation and how the attitudes and positions people occupy in society influence their medical needs. This essay will also highlight some of the challenges faced by the societies around the world in addressing medical inequality. Medical dominance and medicalisation According to Foucault and Illich (in Van Krieken et al. 2006: 351-352), doctors and the medical profession have traditionally been empowered by their knowledge as the authority that society defers to with regards to the definition of disease and health. With improvements in medical technology as well as the advent of the hospital, an evolution... ... middle of paper ... ...London: SAGE. Broom, D.H. and Woodward, R.V. (1996) ‘Medicalisation reconsidered: toward a collaborative approach to care’ in Sociology of Health and Illness, 18, 3: 357-378. Freemantle, N. and Hill, S. (2002) ‘Medicalisation, limits to medicine, or never enough money to go around?’ in British Medical Journal, 324: 864-865. Foucault, M. (2003) The Birth of the Clinic, London: Routledge. Heath, I. (2005), ‘Who needs health care- the well or the sick?’ in British Medical Journal, 330: 954-956. Moynihan, R. and Smith, R (2002) ‘Too much medicine?’ in British Medical Journal, 324: 859-860. Van Kreiken, R. Habbis, D. Smith, P. Hutchins, B. Haralambos, M. Holborn, M. (2006), Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (3rd ed), French Forest: Pearson Longman. White, K. (2002) ‘Race, Ethnicity and Health’ in An introduction to the sociology of health and illness, London: SAGE.
The concepts discussed within the article regarding medicalization and changes within the field of medicine served to be new knowledge for me as the article addressed multiple different aspects regarding the growth of medicalization from a sociological standpoint. Furthermore, the article “The Shifting Engines of Medicalization” discussed the significant changes regarding medicalization that have evolved and are evidently practiced within the contemporary society today. For instance, changes have occurred within health policies, corporatized medicine, clinical freedom, authority and sovereignty exercised by physicians has reduced as other factors began to grow that gained importance within medical care (Conrad 4). Moreover, the article emphasized
...nts of Health and the Prevention of Health Inequities. Retrieved 2014, from Australian Medical Association: https://ama.com.au/position-statement/social-determinants-health-and-prevention-health-inequities-2007
The patient should have confident and trust in their doctor, but the doctor must also recognize that the patient is entitled to have an attitude to illness and his preferred way of tackling this (Turner-Warwick, 1994). Buchanan infers that paternalism eliminates an individual’s power of making their own choices and thus pressed into making decisions. To achieve public health goals, greater considerations must be directed toward promoting a mutual understanding of a just society (Buchanan, 2008). So, if people are given the choice to make certain decision over another, then they are still granted freedom of choice. Buchanan identifies 3 arguments in justifying paternalistic actions: informed consent, weak paternalism, and utilitarianism. To support his argument of informed consent, Buchanan admits there is no significant ethical concern because an individual may reach out to the professional for help, but it is problematic when an intervention is targeting the entire population (Buchanan, 2008). This point of view from Buchanan is flawed and completely limits what public health is all about. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines public health as “what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions for people to be healthy.” With its use of the phrase “we, as a society,” the IOM emphasizes cooperative and mutually shared obligation and it also reinforces the notion that collective
...e gap in attitudes between pre-medicalized and modern time periods. The trends of technological advancement and human understanding project a completely medicalized future in which medical authorities cement their place above an intently obedient society.
Overtime, sociology has played an essential role in the aid of healthcare policies and procedures, along with playing a fundamental role in one’s understanding of health inequalities. This paper explores how sociology has played such a role in healthcare, whilst including discussions regarding the influence of social structures and inequalities in the health of an individual, their family and community, with the topic of health variations between social classes being the main focus of the discussion. A structured overview, review and evaluation of a specific health policy in the UK will also be provided within this paper. Sociology in healthcare. Sociology can be defined in a number of ways, due to its almost limitless scope (Denny, Earle,
... Future of Medicine." The Guardian. The Guardian UK, 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. .
Conrad, Peter. The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
Light, D. W. (2003). Universal health care: Lessons from the British experience. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447686/.
The purpose f this paper is to answer the following question- where does patient autonomy leave off and professional expertise begin in the practice of medicine? Also, a brief personal analysis about the differences between doctors encouraging patients to question their judgment and doctors who believe that such deference is “pandering.”
Van Der Weyden, M. B. (2006) It’s Time for Change and Resolve. Medical Journal. Retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/187_11_031207/van11312_fm.html.
In recent discussions of healthcare, a controversial issue has been what is the source of the healthcare crisis. On the one hand, some argue that only capitalism plays a part in the crisis. From this perspective, one can only blame the hospitals for the United States low life expectancy rate. On the other hand, however one can argue that cultural norms and the fact that health care providers are loosing sight of their clients. This essay will address whether the health care crisis is because of capitalism, cultural norms or the disassociation between doctors and clients.
Marmot in his famous article titled Social Determinants of Health Inequalities firmly stated that actions targeted to improve healthcare access should not be focused only on healthcare system but rather on the social determinants of health. Marmot reiterated that health inequalities, disparities and social determinants of health are totally preventable through more inclusive wider social policies. He insists that inequalities of health between and within geographical areas can be reduced through positive actions.3 And such actions should be focused towards improving the social determinants of health in all areas to give everyone equal access to healthcare services.2-3 Explaining that lack of healthcare access are driven by SDOH, Marmot further argues that health cannot be improved by itself alone, but by enhancing those factors that determine health.
Marxist theory argued that the problem is not just about access to medical care. It is the capitalist economy that defines health and medicine. Under the umbrella of this system, “the main goal of medicine is not health but profit. The profit turns doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical industry into multibillion do...
Medicine as a Form of Social Control This critique will examine the view that medicine is a form of social control. There are many theorists that have different opinions on this view. This critique will discuss each one and their different views. We live in a society where there is a complex division of labour and where enormous varieties of specialist healing roles are recognised.
Sociology of Health and Illness The sociological approaches focus on identifying the two sociological theories. We critically analysed the biomedical model and doctor-patient relationship. We also evaluated how the medical professionals exercise social control and the medical professional’s contribution to ill health. The difference between society and health is studied by sociologists in relation to health and illness.