Sociological theories and health

Feminism-
The feminists in general think that the society is dominated by men. Liberal feminist think that although society has been male dominated in the past and they think that steps have been taken to make society more equal. Marxist feminists see that female especially working class females have been dominated by capitalism and also by males as they produce the next generation and take almost all domestic responsibility. Radical feminist see that females are dominated by males not capitalism. Feminists saw that the medical professions being dominated by males as a problem.
How this can be used in Health and Social care-
Hospitals could used the Feminism perspective meaning they treat every man and women the same, and it is not seen as anything different when a women is a Doctor instead of a man. It also works with men being a nurse instead of just women.

Interactionism-
A sociological approach which focuses on the influences of small groups on our behaviour rather than the power of large institutions. These theorists believe that our behaviour is driven by how, in smaller groups, we interpret situations- how we see ourselves in relation to other people in the group, how we see other members and how they see us.

Postmodernism- this is an approach to sociology, or understanding society, that focuses on the rapid change and uncertainty in our society- some would even say chaos. Postmodernists would suggest that we can no longer talk about established institutions like the family, religion, or the economy because nothing is staying the same and can no longer be relied on. The postmodernism approach states that the state should take minimal responsibility for the welfare and the health of individual and their families. There are no longer many social norms. The way the patterns of ill health are constantly changing and the treatments of illness are also changing as new ways are found.

The trends of ill health are constantly changing, this could be because people are getting better treatment and they no longer have that illness, or this could be because there always more people getting the illnesses and there are new illnesses occurring this could be because people are travelling more.

Collectivism-
Collectivism is that the state should provide health and care facilities for the vulnerable people of society. This should be funded through national insurance and taxation. The government in this country help the ill through the NHS.

The New Right-
The post-war collectivist approach to welfare was that they regard the meeting of care needs to be largely the responsibility of the individual and their family.  So the hospitals could say that if the person was well enough to go home but still be cared for that they could go and it would be the family’s responsibility to look after the patient.