Charles Darwin University HSC210 Health Sociology Written Assessment

This assignment solution for HSC210 (Health Sociology) addresses several key topics in the field. It begins by exploring post-modernist perspectives and their implications for health practice, particularly in the Australian context. The solution then examines the persistent issue of Indigenous health outcomes in Australia, despite increased funding, providing examples to illustrate the challenges. It further delves into the concept of psychiatry as an institute of social control, drawing on sociological theories and examples. The benefits and limitations of e-health are discussed, followed by an analysis of how ideology and politics shape health outcomes, using the PBS as an example. The assignment also covers functionalist theory, medical dominance, the concept of discourse in health and biomedicine, and the implications of multiculturalism for health needs, offering a comprehensive overview of core sociological concepts relevant to health and healthcare in Australia.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Please ensure you follow the instructions provided in Assessment three in the
assessment sections on learnline.
Question 1
What insights do post-modernist perspectives provide and what might this mean for health
practice?
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Post-modernist perspectives refer to the approach that helps in treating the interpretations,
explanations and perceptions of human beings dependent on the cultural and social resources
available at that moment rather than on facts. In terms of sociology, post-modernist
perspectives is defined as the rational and science thoughts, which provides metanarratives
through a logical explanation of a postmodern life (Fried et al., 2017). One of the important
perspectives of post-modernist in relation to health practice is that it helps the experts to share
a uniform set of assumptions by improving the thinking prospects and going beyond the
modernist perspectives. The perspective demonstrates that without producing alternative
metanarratives, the experts can provide effective suggestions for the health issues. The
chosen perspective is directly related to health practice because the insights can help in
improving the treating mechanism of the patient in a better way (Browne et al., 2016). In
terms of Australian context, the selected perspective can influence the nursing professionals
to use an effective alternative of treatment method by consulting with the healthcare
professionals and understanding their assumptions on the caring procedure. Hence, it is
evident that the chosen post-modernist perspective can create positive implications on the
health practice of people belonging to Australia.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 2
Despite increases in funding, explain why in Australia, Indigenous health outcomes are still
an issue? Provide examples to illustrate your argument.
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In Australia, the funding has increased for the indigenous people, but it cannot improve the
overall health outcomes of this community people in this country. After accessing the
background of indigenous people, it is seen that the funding does not provide satisfactory
results and due to this reason, the health outcomes become consider as an issue for the
mentioned community. For example, the unemployment and low-income rate of indigenous
people are not decreased with the enhancing funding rate (Arsenault, Diver, McGregor,
Witham & Bourassa, 2018). The funding amount provided by the Australian government to
the indigenous people provided temporary relief in terms of getting health facilities, but not
all people are receiving the same care. Hence, it is a fact that define health outcomes become
an issue for indigenous Australians. Another example is that lack of adequate nutrition, poor
sanitation and housing along with poor education is also a reason which increases the poor
health outcomes of the indigenous people (Jacob, Perron & Holmes, 2016). It is analyzed that
the increment in funding approach cannot improve the nutrition and hygiene condition of the
people, and for this reason, the health outcomes are still not progressing for this particular
community people.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 3
Psychiatry can be viewed as an institute of social control. Draw on sociological theories and
examples to discuss this statement.
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Psychiatry is considered as the medical specialty that focused on the treatment, diagnosis and
prevention of emotional, behavioral and mental disorders. According to the concepts,
psychiatry is the treatment that based on both deficit and disease models (Barello et al.,
2016). Both these modes have their limits that enable the psychiatry treatment to fight against
certification. Hence, it is one of the reasons that demonstrate psychiatry as an institute of
social control. One example that defines this perspective is the models use in psychiatry
treatment provide a systematic approach that helps in reducing the certification aspects of the
health issue (Zhang, Yu, Yan & Spil, 2015). Besides this, some scholars suggested that
psychiatry help in the exclusion of disturbing social people from society and thus provide
social support to the human being. Thus, all these approaches prove that psychiatry has been
viewed as an institute of social control. The sociological theory that should analyze in
relation to health condition is the unintended consequences of social action theory. The
theory states that social interventions can cause unintended consequences, and among them,
some of them can be prevented with the effective treatment procedure. The theory
demonstrates that medicine is not harmful to the individual, but the presence of unintended
effects can cause harmful effects on a person (Zhang, Yu, Yan & Spil, 2015). This particular
concept of sociological theory has discussed that psychiatric treatment is helpful for socially
control the people, and thus the above statement is considered to be true in terms of the
Australian healthcare system.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 4
What are the key benefits and limitations of e-health?
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The term e-health, in a broader sense, defines as the use of communications and information
technologies in the healthcare system. According to the World Health Organization, e-health is
defined as the secure and cost-effective system of technologies that support health and health-
related fields such as health surveillance, healthcare and health education including both
research and knowledge respectively (Willis, Keleher & Reynolds, 2016). There are several
benefits and limitations of using e-health in the healthcare system. The benefits of using e-health
system are as follows:
 By using e-health system, the patient can schedule their appointment with the
professional through the online healthcare portal procedure (Nasiritousi, Hjerpe &
Bäckstrand, 2016). This process can save time, extra efforts and costs of patient efforts
effectively and it also influences them to arrange the consultation service online
efficiently
 With the help of this e-health system, the professionals can share the patient health-
related information within some time. For example, the system helps the professionals to
store their patient information effectively so that they can access it from any location and
at any time (Nasiritousi, Hjerpe & Bäckstrand, 2016)
 Another benefit of the e-health system is that it influences the clinical staffs to improve
their productivity, quality and work-life balance
Apart from these benefits, e-health also possesses some limitations, which are provided below:
 One of the primary limitations of the e-health system is that it is costly and time-
consuming. Along with this the start-up amount of this system is too much high
 The e-health system will help in storing the data in an electronic database, but it might be
vulnerable with several cyber-attacks. For example, most of the healthcare firms face
problems in malware attacks and phishing attacks due to the incorporation of the e-health
system in their business procedure (Scholz, 2018)
 Due to the presence of the e-health system sometimes false alarm and misinterpretation
in file entry takes place that overall creates panic to the patient

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 5
How does ideology and politics shape health outcomes? Draw on examples such as the PBS
to illustrate your points.
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Ideology in the political context defines as the set of beliefs about policy and political theory
that held by either particular social class, group of individuals and individual. In terms of
healthcare perspectives, ideology in political context demonstrates as the assumptions
regarding the ultimate responsibility for health that lies within the society or with the
individual that overall promote the public good in health. Many scholars suggested that
political ideology help in shaping the health outcomes of the people (Ormerod, 2019). It
generally acts as a facilitator and barrier that control the negative impact of health outcomes
in both practice and research. For example, PBS is one of the distributors that provide a brief
view regarding the impact of politics and ideology on health outcomes in a positive sense.
Several studies have shown that political ideology has related to the health outcomes in an
ecological level and influence the health experts to improve their treatment procedure in
terms of political orientation (Lepièce, Reynaert, van Meerbeeck & Dory, 2016). Hence, from
these prospects, it is quite evident that ideology and politics can create4 positive impact on
the health outcomes if it can be used effectively by the healthcare professionals.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 6
Certain mechanisms of functionalist theory are utilised today. Discuss what they are and
highlight the main assumptions and limitations of functionalism.
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The functionalist theory demonstrates the nature of the mental states of an individual.
According to this theory, the philosophy of mind is the primary aspect that influences the
mental state of an individual. The mechanism that has utilized today with the help of this
theory is to determine the causal relations to sensory stimulations and behavior. For example,
in today's environment with the help of this theory, the healthcare experts characterize pain in
as a state that causes due to injury in the body, and it can produce anxiety in an individual
(Fennig, & Denov, 2018). Another mechanism that has been used by following this theory is
to understand the different physical constitutions, which affected the mental state of an
individual. Apart from this, it is analyzed that this theory possesses some assumptions and
limitations in relation to health, which are provided below:
Assumptions
 One of the primary assumptions of this theory is that it provides effective medical
care and good health treatment for maintaining the smooth functioning of society
 With the help of this theory, every patient can perform their "sick role" by
maintaining normal obligations of the healthcare procedure (Andermo, Sundberg,
Forsberg & Falkenberg, 2015)
Limitations
 One of the primary limitations of this functionalist theory is that it failed to explain
the internal states that create mental pressure over an individual and created an issue
in their health

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 7
What is medical dominance and how does the medical profession achieve medical dominance
in Australia?
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Medical dominance defines as the control of medical professions over the terms, content and
conditions of their work and health occupations. Medical dominance, in other words, helps in
positioning the medical profession in different terms of both accountability and funding
resource (Andermo, Sundberg, Forsberg & Falkenberg, 2015). With the help of this
approach, the medical profession can identify two types of multiplicity scale such as
fragmented and unified multiplicity that helpful in doing the treatment procedure properly. In
terms of Australian context, the medical profession should maintain a good relationship with
their patient so that that they can conclude treatment solely from their clinical study. In the
healthcare sector, an effective patient-doctor relationship must be present for analyzing the
conditions of the people in their centre. Moreover, it created a social power among the
medical profession in Australia so that the expert uses their clinical practice properly in
curing the patient (Maginn & Hamnett, 2016). Thus by following these approaches, the
medical profession of Australia can achieve medical allowance, and this is important for
curing the patient properly within a mentioned time frame. Hence, by maintaining the
medical dominance, the experts can provide positive implications on the health context of the
Australian people.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 8
Explain the concept of discourse and explain how it is relevant to health and biomedicine in
Australia. Draw on examples to highlight you points.
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In terms of sociology, the concept of discourse refers to the communication and thinking
approaches of people regarding the relationships among each other and the social
organisation of the society, respectively. According to the social context, it typically emerges
due to the presence of social institutions such as politics and media. In relation to the
Australian healthcare system, discourse is considered as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry
that helps the healthcare researchers to make proper treatment procedure that is suitable for
the patients. For example, by using discourse analysis, the clinical experts provide a
productive qualitative methodology that helpful in determining the correct healthcare
treatment for the health issue (Maginn & Hamnett, 2016). Besides this, biomedicine refers to
the physiological and biological principles useful in clinical practices. The concept of the
disclosure provides a research strategy that helps the experts to use the principles effectively.
For example, the disclosure concept provides an ideological dimension regarding the
healthcare system that helps the experts to utilize the principles properly in relation to the
clinical procedure.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 9
What is multi-culturalism and how might health needs differ for immigrants and refugees to
people who are born in Australia?
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Multiculturalism defines as the manner that a society deals with cultural diversity. With the
help of this concept, people define race, culture and ethnicity among each other. The concept
responds to the cultural pluralism, and due to this reason, the health needs of both refugees
and immigrants who are born in Australia should be different from one another (Pluut, 2016).
By providing the treatment according to the health needs of immigrants as well as for
refugees, the healthcare centre can differ in their treatment policy. In order to provide
different health facilities, the experts have to research regarding the health problems of
Australian refugees and immigrants and then decide the treatment. By this way, the health
needs differ for this community.

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Question 10
What are the social determinants of health and how do they help us understand the dynamics
of globalisation and inequity? Draw on examples in the Australian context to illustrate your
key points.
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The social determinants of health are:
 Income and social status
 Physical environments
 Employment and working conditions
 Healthy behaviors
 Access to health services
 Literacy and education
The social determinants help in understanding the conditions of people where they work and
live along with the opportunities that lead to a healthy life. Besides this, the determinants help
in analyzing the transdisciplinary approaches of the society, and this has helped in identifying
the inequity and globalization context that present in the society of Australian background. For
example, the determinants demonstrate the attitude of every community over the Australian
and this help in determining the inequity context occurring among several class of people
(Wilding & Nunn, 2018).

STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
References
Andermo, S., Sundberg, T., Forsberg, C., & Falkenberg, T. (2015). Capitalizing on synergies
—a discourse analysis of the process of collaboration among providers of integrative
health care. PloS one, 10(3), e0122125.
Arsenault, R., Diver, S., McGregor, D., Witham, A., & Bourassa, C. (2018). Shifting the
framework of Canadian water governance through Indigenous research methods:
Acknowledging the past with an eye on the future. Water, 10(1), 49.
Barello, S., Triberti, S., Graffigna, G., Libreri, C., Serino, S., Hibbard, J., & Riva, G. (2016).
eHealth for patient engagement: a systematic review. Frontiers in psychology, 6,
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Browne, A. J., Varcoe, C., Lavoie, J., Smye, V., Wong, S. T., Krause, M., ... & Fridkin, A.
(2016). Enhancing health care equity with Indigenous populations: evidence-based
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Fennig, M., & Denov, M. (2018). The regime of truth: Rethinking the dominance of the bio-
medical model in mental health social work with refugee youth. The British Journal
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Fried, E. I., van Borkulo, C. D., Cramer, A. O., Boschloo, L., Schoevers, R. A., & Borsboom,
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Jacob, J. D., Perron, A., & Holmes, D. (2016). Introduction: unmasking the psychiatric
apparatus. In Power and the Psychiatric Apparatus (pp. 23-44). Routledge.
Lepièce, B., Reynaert, C., van Meerbeeck, P., & Dory, V. (2016). Social dominance theory
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Maginn, P. J., & Hamnett, S. (2016). Multiculturalism and Metropolitan Australia:
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STUDENT NAME_STUDENT NUMBER_ HSC210_Written Assessment
Nasiritousi, N., Hjerpe, M., & Bäckstrand, K. (2016). Normative arguments for non-state
actor participation in international policymaking processes: Functionalism,
neocorporatism or democratic pluralism?. European Journal of International
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Zhang, X., Yu, P., Yan, J., & Spil, I. T. A. (2015). Using diffusion of innovation theory to
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