Post modernism:
Postmodernism is an approach that looks at the rapid change in our society, post modernists believe we can no longer discuss affairs such as our families and economies because they change so rapidly and we no longer know if we are ‘coming or going’. They also say that expectations are staying the same; for example, families are changing so quickly, ten years ago the nuclear family was more common but lone parent and same sex is quickly approaching it to the lead statistic.
Postmodernist say that because of our rapid changes in society, functionalism and Marxism can no longer explain it.
Collectivism:
Collectivism is when everyone in society has an input into the ‘pot of cash’, this is when everyone pays their taxes and the state or government has the responsibility for the provision of health and social care provision. As a whole we all collectively influence our society, Beverage suggested that there are five giant evils in life. These five giant evils were; want, squalor, disease, ignorance and idleness.
The Beverage report in 1942 provided a report into the welfare services and was used to improve health and social care provision. The first steps were the government accepting responsibility for fighting disease and illness through the provision of a national health service (NHS). Eradicate squalor conditions by supplying local authority housing, and introducing a fair rental scheme to ensure that everyone has an equal right in finding accommodation. Introduce state support such as the benefit system, this solves the poverty cycle because everyone will have a basic amount of money to live on. Provide better education to combat the problem of ignorance and would also put more money into society as the population would be earning more in better jobs. Remove the last giant evil of idleness by creating more jobs, for example, building more houses would create more jobs.
New right:
The new right is a perspective that wants society to return to the ‘golden age’ where there wasn’t a dependence on benefits and state services. The new right emphasises traditional values, such as, marriage before having children and making divorce harder. People who believe the new right think that society should become more capitalist and society should have more choice how they want to earn their money and they should have the right to choose what they spend it on. Capitalism is about keeping money for the earner rather than having to pay it out on taxes; Capitalism is about conserving/saving money from the taxman rather than paying it out for society to take advantage of. The new right says that our state is too protective over us and we should be allowed to just get on with it, as welfare services and state benefits interfere too much with the working economy.
The new right has a theory that an underclass exists; the under classes are those who depend on state benefits and are below the working class, they believe that long term unemployment will lead to higher crime rates and more family breakdowns. (Murray 1984)
(earningat.ke7.org.uk/socialsciences/soc-sci/soc/a2/.../newright.doc)
P2: describe the different concepts of health:
For this question I will be using the following case study:
Cathy is 38, a mother of two and is homeless. The two rooms she is staying in are cramped and filthy, and smell of beer and cigarette smoke from the pub below. Cathy has to share a bed with her eleven year old daughter, while her nine year old son sleeps on the sofa. The noise from the pub keeps them awake at night and both children have started to do badly at school. There is no kitchen and their only source of water is the shower.
Negative concept of health:
Someone who has a negative concept of health would see themselves as just being comfortable and free from pain. An individual who has this concept would consider them self healthy unless they had pain or discomfort. They may also score their health by thinking ‘when was the last time I went to the doctors?’ They probably wouldn’t consider what we call ‘minor conditions ‘is an illness full stop and would be unlikely to go to the doctor or hospital for an upset stomach or feeling depressed. Those who have a negative concept towards health will be reluctant to go to the doctors and will think that if someone is free from pain or discomfort then they will be okay and will survive.
The negative concept of health would say that Cathy is healthy at the moment because she is not ill with any apparent disease and is not in pain. Cathy’s needs would be addressed by determining if she is feeling pain or in discomfort, most of Cathy’s problems are emotional because it is about how she is feeling. This concept probably wouldn’t address Cathy’s needs until she actually has the health problem, such as breathing problems due to the smoke form below or insomnia due to the loud noise at night.
Positive concept of health:
Holding a positive concept of health is regarding health as feeling fit and well, positive concepts towards health will include the intellectual, emotional and social well-being of the individual rather than just being physically well. Someone who has the positive concept of health will feel okay if they feel physically well and are not depressed or socially isolated. It is also about how they can promote an individual’s health, for example, they could provide a college course that will help them intellectually and emotionally as it will make them happier.
Cathy would be described as ill using the positive concept of health because she is not feeling fit and well, this is because she needs water and is not feeling well because of the cigarette smoke from the pub below. Cathy’s needs would be addressed by finding the reason why she is not feeling well, after this was determined the practitioner would try to find a resolution, for example, trying to find Cathy new accommodation or referring her to the local authority as a priority.
Holistic concept of health:
The holistic concept of health is looking at the body as a whole rather than a specific problem; an example could be someone going to the doctor with a headache, using the holistic concept the doctor would try to find out why the person has the headache. The doctor might consider the lighting or noise and could suggest they sit in a quiet and dark room and see if it goes away. However, a non-holistic doctor would prescribe drugs and tell the patient to come back if they get another one.
A holistic practitioner would consider illness using all of the PIES needs, the PIES needs are physical, intellectual, emotional and social. Cathy’s needs would be physically to have a suitable living environment and be free from the smoke and noise. Intellectually – to be able to work or study and have a sense of self achievement. Emotionally – to feel good about herself and know she is providing the best life for her children, to be able to feel happy and to have a good self-image. Socially- Cathy needs to interact with others and discuss her issues.
The holistic practitioner would suggest that Cathy is not feeling her best because of the environment she is living in, the environment is affecting her holistically because she cannot breathe in fresh air whilst t home, she can’t study due to the noise, she can’t have friends around because she is ashamed that she only has two rooms to live in and doesn’t even have a tap. The practitioner would try to resolve all of these problems with Cathy to help her in the longer term.
The world health organisation (WHO) definition of health:
The WHO 1974 defined health as; ‘not merely an absence of disease, but a state of complete physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being’. The WHO definition is saying that health is not just about being free from disease but a state of physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being. This means that the individual as a whole is okay, so not just being free from disease such as HIV but also being happy and not being stressed and alone.
The WHO would say that Cathy is not healthy and well at the moment because she is not well in all the four ways of physically, mentally, spiritually and socially. The WHO would try to do the same thing as the holistic practitioner and look at the bigger picture of problems taking place in Cathy’s life. Even though if just one of the problems was eliminated such as the cigarette smoke, this would make Cathy’s life better but the WHO would want Cathy to be better in the longer term and therefore would try to resolve all the current problems at once.
M1: explain the different concepts of health using two sociological perspectives:
Functionalist perspective towards health:
Talcott Parsons (1951) said that sickness isn’t just conditioned but a social role; he said we should have two rights and two duties when we are ill:
The duties were that the sick person shouldn’t enjoy being ill and should want to regain complete health as soon as possible, the second duty that Parsons suggested was that the sick person should seek help during a prolonged duration of being ill, the sick person should then work with the professional help to try to regain good health as soon as possible. This is a functionalist concept because it is about getting the sick person back into work and producing for society, it could also relate to the positive definition of health because it is about getting the sick individual into work but only once they are better in every aspect and not just physically like Marxists would believe.
Apart from the duties there were also two rights, the first right was that the person should be able to become exempt from social duties and the more severe the condition the more they should be excused from carrying out their normal roles in society such as working.
The rights and duties that Parsons suggested were dependant on each individual; he said that if someone does not seek help for themselves and their condition worsens then they no longer have immunity from blame. This would also relate to the positive definition of health because Parsons is saying that people should be fit and healthy as a whole rather than just free from disease like the negative definition states. This is an example of Functionalism because an employer would prefer an individual to be off work for a short time with a minor illness rather than having a long time off with a serious illness because they didn’t seek help; it is all about being off work and regaining good health as soon as possible. According to Parsons there are two themes to illness, these are vulnerability and deviance. The sick are vulnerable because they are trusting, prepared to wait for help and want a cure.
Functionalists believe the sick must be looked after and the sufferers are not responsible for their illness. Because illness and disease can’t be chosen empathy must be in place for those who are sick and we must adopt a caring role to help them back to complete health. This could fit in with both the holistic and positive definition of health, because they want the individual to be well again as a whole. It fits in with the positive definition because they are not focusing specifically on one problem, but all of them.
Functionalists believe however that the sick are a threat to society because they have become deviant because they have been relieved from work and social commitments. They fear that people may have the desire to become ill because of the attraction of no work and commitments; this could affect the social system if people pretend to be ill to ‘play’ the system. This could fit in with the negative concept of health because if an individual is only off of work for a very short period of time and gets well very quickly then they will be less likely to get used to having no commitments, this means they will not see the time-off as a holiday and wont desire to have more time off.
When someone is ill and is not fulfilling their requirements within society they adopt the sick role, the sick role fits in with the positive definition of health because they want the individual to accept that they are ill, they then can begin to get better and be prepared to fulfil their duties to society once again. Marxists wouldn’t like society to adopt the sick role because they would be seen as a threat; this is because they would no longer be working and therefore wouldn’t be contributing to the Bourgeoisie. Therefore this is a good thing, because society cannot pretend to be ill and cost the Bourgeoisie, in their opinion this is a good thing. However some people might not like being dependant on others and could refuse to accept the term that they are sick, this is good for Marxists because it means that the population will refuse to accept they are ill and won’t have time off work, this would fit in with the negative concept of health. For example, if someone has AIDS they might refuse to accept they have AIDS because of the social stigma associated with it. However, they have the right to be sick.
Functionalists would use the positive concept of health because they would say that as soon as the individual is back to ‘normal’ health they should return to work and carry out their roles and duties to society. Functionalism as a whole is more in favour of the positive and holistic concepts/definitions of health because they see illness as anything that would make the individual ill and not just a physical condition such as a disease.
Marxist concept of health:
Marxists believe that good health is a way of ensuring that that the working class will not revolt against the ruling classes and Bourgeoisie. Marxists think that if Marxists keep their work force healthy they will continue to work and will not think about revolting against those with higher power for better standards. However Marxism feels that Marxists should not have to pay for the working class to be healthy. Marxists argue that the welfare services should be paid for by the bourgeoisie and the ruling classes, such as; the bourgeoisie shouldn’t control the working class. This is the negative concept of health because Marxists believe that the term illness should almost be avoided, if too many people in society were being labelled as ‘ill’ then society would be at home or in hospital rather than in work and helping the ruling classes make money.
Marxists believe that huge drug corporations such as Glaxo Smith Klein can control society, as only the richest can afford the best treatments available, whilst governments ignore the massive profits they make. An example could be the tobacco industry, the government is paying millions of pounds to help smokers quit smoking, but they put the taxes up on tobacco products to make more money. This could fall into the holistic definition of health because they are looking at what makes people ill and how they can make them better, although they wouldn’t want to buy the expensive treatments and medications.
When It comes to actually being ill Marxists feel that doctors are just agents employed by the governments and high powered individuals who ensure that people get back to work as soon as possible and work in the interests of the employer and economy rather than the sick individual. A doctors job is to benefit the employer of the patient and not to put the patient at the heart of provision, the government turn a blind eye to this as well as other health affecting problems, such as, factories who produce noxious waste and the large cars that damage the environment. This could relate to the negative concept of health, because Marxists will be hesitant to provide healthcare for conditions because the bourgeoisie won’t want to fund them or end up paying for them through taxation. However, the Bourgeoisie might want to provide healthcare to help an individual get better quicker than if they were left to heal naturally. If the sick worker regains health quickly then they can return back to work and begin to pay taxes again to the bourgeoisie. Marxists would see this as an investment to help the sick worker regain health as soon as possible, although they would be hesitant to provide time off of work as they may become defiant towards society.
Unlike functionalists who believe sickness is random and natural, Marxists argue that sickness and ill health is caused by the differences in social classes. For example, there is a higher crime rate and lower life expectancy in areas of poverty. Marxists claim the government do not do anything about this because it will cost money, this money would have to be funded by the richer classes in society. Marxists think that society as a whole should pay to give everyone the same services and opportunities, also doctors shouldn’t be paid as much as they are because they are too influential and controlling in society. This is a holistic concept to health because Marxists are looking at what is causing the lower life expectancies and ultimately the ill health. This could also relate to the positive concept of health because Marxists aren’t just looking at a specific illness, but all of them in general.
Marxists also believe that society is un-equal and the richer are helped to become richer, but the poorer are being left to become poorer and poorer.
Bibliography:
- Class notes.
- BTEC national diploma health and social care -Book 2 – Beryl Stretch and Mary Whitehouse
-
earningat.ke7.org.uk/socialsciences/soc-sci/soc/a2/.../newright.doc
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactionism
