Chapter 16 Outline:Health and Medicine
Pandemic- An outbreak of disease that occurs over a wide area
COVID-19 was an infectious respiratory infection that traveled around the world, sickening
millions and killing thousands.
Health- The extent to which a person experiences a state of mental, physical, and social
well-being.
Medicine- An institutionalized system for the scientific diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of
illness.
Preventive medicine- Medicine that emphasizes a healthy lifestyle that will prevent poor health
before it occurs.
five sociological social determinants of health-economic stability
Education, social and community context, health and health care,neighborhood and built
environment.
Sick role- A social role rooted in cultural definitions of the appropriate behavior of and response
to people labeled as sick.(Talcott Parsons’s)
Not all addictions are treated the same in society. Some (including alcoholism) are
medicalized, while others (including drug use) are criminalized
Sociologists point out that cultural definitions of mental illness and how it is viewed and
treated are socially constructed and change over time and place
Stigma- An attribute that is deeply discrediting to an individual or group because it overshadows
other attributes.
physical (those associated with bodies and “disfigurement”);
social (such as race or religion);
moral (“blemishes of individual character” associated with mental illness or incarceration).
Health care- All those activities intended to sustain, promote, and enhance health
The United States spends three times more per capita on health care ($11,072 in 2019) than
the average spending ($3,851) of eight other developed countries
Environmental racism- Policies and practices that impact the environment of communities
where the population is disproportionately composed of ethnic and racial minorities.
The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS demands a sociological approach as well as a medical
approach. The mass spread of the infection is closely intertwined with sociological issues.
Gender inequality makes some populations more vulnerable to infection
Public health- The science and practice of health protection and maintenance at a community
level
One of the largest and most profitable industries in the United States is the manufacture and
sale of tobacco products, estimated to be a $47.1 billion industry
Morbidity- The rate of illness in a particular population.
Mortality- The rate of death in a particular population.
Obesity is of interest to sociologists because it corresponds to many social activities and
behaviors and has social causes and consequences-obesity in the United States as a national
health problem
Émile Durkheim might point out, it is a social fact, or phenomenon that varies in different times
and places. Durkheim might also note that can only be explained with other social factsteen
pregnancy
Pandemic- An outbreak of disease that occurs over a wide area
COVID-19 was an infectious respiratory infection that traveled around the world, sickening
millions and killing thousands.
Health- The extent to which a person experiences a state of mental, physical, and social
well-being.
Medicine- An institutionalized system for the scientific diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of
illness.
Preventive medicine- Medicine that emphasizes a healthy lifestyle that will prevent poor health
before it occurs.
five sociological social determinants of health-economic stability
Education, social and community context, health and health care,neighborhood and built
environment.
Sick role- A social role rooted in cultural definitions of the appropriate behavior of and response
to people labeled as sick.(Talcott Parsons’s)
Not all addictions are treated the same in society. Some (including alcoholism) are
medicalized, while others (including drug use) are criminalized
Sociologists point out that cultural definitions of mental illness and how it is viewed and
treated are socially constructed and change over time and place
Stigma- An attribute that is deeply discrediting to an individual or group because it overshadows
other attributes.
physical (those associated with bodies and “disfigurement”);
social (such as race or religion);
moral (“blemishes of individual character” associated with mental illness or incarceration).
Health care- All those activities intended to sustain, promote, and enhance health
The United States spends three times more per capita on health care ($11,072 in 2019) than
the average spending ($3,851) of eight other developed countries
Environmental racism- Policies and practices that impact the environment of communities
where the population is disproportionately composed of ethnic and racial minorities.
The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS demands a sociological approach as well as a medical
approach. The mass spread of the infection is closely intertwined with sociological issues.
Gender inequality makes some populations more vulnerable to infection
Public health- The science and practice of health protection and maintenance at a community
level
One of the largest and most profitable industries in the United States is the manufacture and
sale of tobacco products, estimated to be a $47.1 billion industry
Morbidity- The rate of illness in a particular population.
Mortality- The rate of death in a particular population.
Obesity is of interest to sociologists because it corresponds to many social activities and
behaviors and has social causes and consequences-obesity in the United States as a national
health problem
Émile Durkheim might point out, it is a social fact, or phenomenon that varies in different times
and places. Durkheim might also note that can only be explained with other social factsteen
pregnancy
