Nursing Sociology Analysis: Social Determinants of Health and Illness

This report provides a sociological analysis of health and illness, focusing on the social determinants that influence health outcomes. It explores the complexities of human social life and the role of sociology in understanding health-related issues. The report examines various sociological perspectives, including functionalist and interactionist viewpoints, and discusses the impact of the biomedical model. It highlights the importance of social determinants of health, such as inter-sectorial actions, promoting autonomy, and evaluating scientific evidence. The report also covers different theories related to health and illness, such as eco-social frameworks and psychological approaches. It concludes by emphasizing the need for human service practitioners and media campaigns to promote sociological perspectives and improve health outcomes. The analysis references various studies and frameworks, including those from the World Health Organization (WHO), and provides insights into health inequalities and the strategies to achieve health equality in society. The report also mentions the impact of social factors on the medical profession and scientific advancements, as well as the challenges in implementing the biomedical model for mental illness.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
There are much complexness and encompasses in human social life. Therefore, in today's
scenario, there is a great role of sociology which is a study about the social life of humans. As it
has too much complexity, it is sub-divided into special areas. Sociological analysis is the method
of consistently analysing a social-issues problem, and trends to make the changes which are
being analysed in those situations. There are various types of sociological analysis, it can be
quantitative, qualitative, macro-sociological, micro-sociological and network analysis (Davis &
et.al., 2015). In the following report, sociological analyses on health and illness are provided.
Health sociology is the interrelation between the two terms health and society. It may include
diseases, illness, and life-expectancy which are based on the external factors such as
demographics.
In today's world, health can be only defined as complexity. World health organisation
(WHO) is identifying the ways through which these complexities can be resolved. They are
understanding different ways by which societies work. They perform analysis about social
interaction and identify different ways to which population is affecting the health of people.
Biomedical model is among that perspective which helps to understand about the health and
illness. The main principle on which this model is based refers to scientific rationality. Herein,
the body is considered as machine and illness as imperfection due to diseases (Bowling, 2014). It
helps to reduce the health problems/illness in particular areas but it excludes behavioural,
psychological, and social aspects.
Commission on Social-Determinants of Health under WHO was charged to collect data,
synthesise and systematise attest on social-determinants of health and illness. Social-
determinants have studied health on different levels at social context, they have selected
individuals having different behaviour, lifestyles, community, and networks. Further, they
studied about their living and work-environment so that economic, environmental and social
conditions can be expressed. There are mainly three concepts where social-determinants have to
focus. These are:
 Inter-sectorial actions having a purpose to improve health quality and reduce illness
level.
 Promoting autonomy as well as the social participation of the most vulnerable population
groups.
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 Evaluating scientific evidence which help to make the production of knowledge and
information about relations between health and social determinants.
In order to achieve health equality in the society, social-determinants have made certain
strategies in 5 areas which are:
 Making improvement with the help of the government in health and development.
 Promoting social involvement in building and adopting a public policy.
 Developing new construction areas for healthcare systems so that health inequality and
illness can be reduced (Herman & Chiu, 2014)
 Establishing new governmental reforms and global collaboration in health-care sector and
 Monitoring the health and illness at community and national level.
There are different concerns and beliefs which sociologists have suggested about health
and illness. To understand the sociology in context to human action there are various theories.
Moreover, realistic and individualistic challenges can be explained through this social-
phenomena. There were 3-main theories which were developed under the conceptual framework
of health and illness. These were: Eco-social frameworks, psychological approaches and impact
of health through the social production of political economy (Schofield & et.al., 2017).
The first theory is about the Eco-social frameworks which are based on different levels. It
is integration about of biological, ecological, and social perspective. It was made to understand
health perspective based on the population, diseases and social inequalities. Health is an
important aspect when the social position of a country is decided but according to the theory,
health inequalities are not considered.
Psychological approaches are those related to the viewpoint of people and their
experience through which they become ill and have poor health. Stress is considered as one of
the main factors in this area (Leidy, Schofield, & Parke, 2013). It creates an impact on the social
environment, affects the host, decreases their functioning and increases vulnerability to illness.
To prevent all these, the person must regularly check their health status and mental-mechanism.
The last theory is about the impact of health through the social production of the political
economy. It is based on the income inequalities due to negative psychological consequences.
Moreover, this can be based on the lack of resources as well as systematic under-investment. All
these decisions are mostly based on political parties and economic reforms of the country.
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To understand the health perspective as mentioned above bio-medical model can
effectively evaluate it on the basis of biological process (Sen & Cowley, 2013). It is one of the
oldest form of health-related examples, where the individual gets freedom from the disease, pain
and defects. Various processes which are completed in this model includes inspection, the study
of pathology on illness, physiological-mechanisms, and biochemical-processes. In this model, a
scientific application is used to cure and heal the diseases based on the medical principles and
conditions. However, factors like economic, psychological, and social-factors are not included in
it. The model is implemented at the molecular level (Leidy, Schofield & Parke, 2013). Though it
includes the clinics, then also there are many communities which are prone to diseases. Many
changes such as medical professionals, medical-standards, and technological advancement were
made. However, the biomedical model was unable to solve all the health conditions of people.
Further, social factors have affected the medical profession and scientific advancement. One
such disease is tuberculosis which has affected public health system. Such conditions create
crises in the country and government also have to act as per situation (Benbow & et.al., 2015).
All the above data shows that bio-medical model is unable to protect from the health
emergencies.
Along with this, there is a disadvantage of this model while implementing the health
treatment and dispensing care for the mental illness. Medical illness can be due to abnormalities,
behaviour, and cognitive thinking of the affected people. It is considered under the contemporary
society (Gabe & Monaghan, 2013). However, according to the model, this illness is due to a
chemical imbalance in the brain. So, bio-medical model is unable to solve such conditions and
people are kept away from the society. Healthcare in these areas is also not implemented by the
social-determinants of health.
Sociological perspective based on the health and illness is about the sociological
investigation on the social life individual. In Australia, it is based on the four perspectives
(Schofield & et.al. 2017). These are functional, conflict, interactionist, and labelling perspective.
For the current study details about the functional and interactionist perspective is given. In the
former one details regarding the specific roles played by the sick in the society are evaluated and
how their role affects others are mentioned. Under functionalism, the major factors included are
standards, institutions, and traditions where individuals can interact with each other. It helps in
promoting the solidarity and stability in the society but it is a complex system (Badland & et.al.,
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2014). According to this perspective, sick people are considered as unproductive to the country,
so abnormality needs to be policed. Such roles are mostly performed by the medical profession.
There was a great impact of them during the year 1940 but as the time changed there was a rapid
decline in such activities (Polesel, Rice & Dulfer, 2014).
The latter one is about interactionist perspective, where social-determinants investigate
people creating meaning at the time of social interaction. These are the discussion in which
person describe himself and the other peoples in the society. It is completely based on the
interaction and communication of society. Further, it increases the relationship and mutual
understanding among the people (researcher and participants). The rated scale is evaluated from
0 to 10. In this, two main focussed terms are medicalisation and de- medicalisation. Such things
are based on the people reaction to the patients and what responsibilities they must have towards
the patients. Such examples can be seen as the viewpoints towards the alcohol and alcoholism.
Those people consuming the alcohol are recognised as lazy and were arrested. Later, it becomes
their habit and those people were considered as sick by the society (Curtis & et.al., 2014)
As per the given perspective, these were the cases which were implemented in the parts
of Europe and Australia. Functionalist perspective is based on the perception of the other people
regarding the sick people (Forsyth, 2017). This means that society will avoid those people which
are having the incurable-diseases. Moreover, such people are blamed for affecting the society.
For another concept was developed which was structural functionalist where concentration on
the social-solidarity and social structures. Under social solidarity, there are two factors organic
and medical topologies. For these two reforms were developed, the first one was recognising and
punishing according to the standards and punishing the people according to the acceptable and
unacceptable behaviour. The second one was based on the social parameter such as society and
population which was based on the mentality of the people. The most common example which
can be taken from the US, homosexuality was considered as deviant. However, this divided the
country into two, homo and heterosexual. As the situation has changed both the groups are
accepted in the society (Collyer, 2015).
In contrast to the above, interactionist perspective, is the theoretical perspective of
learning about the behaviour of the people in the society through social interaction. It is face-to-
face interaction and depends on the action, behaviour, mutual adaptation, and relation. In this
body language plays a major role. This can be better understood from the example of gender as
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performance. Here masculinity and femininity are the two areas which define the gender. As now
this will build the mindset of the people that, only man can perform the role which requires
strengths (Forsyth & et.al. 2017). Genders are retained through the accountability they both are
considered as equal. People considering them different are the part of such social diseases which
cannot be changed.
As the literacy rates are rising some of the health issues are solved while there are many
areas where it still needs to be focused. For such purposes, human service practitioner must be
allowed to work. They can help in directly accessing the needs, benefits, eligibility of the person
in the society (Meyer & Ward, 2014). Moreover, they can easily monitor, supervise, accompany
and visit the clients when they need assistance. Such people must be promoted by the society to
improve the sociological perspective. Further, details should be provided through media, an
education campaign and many more things.
From the above research, it can be concluded that that are various factors which impact
on the sociological-factors in the society. Key roles are performed by the social-determinants in
preventing the health and illness in the society (Goodman, 2016). With the help of WHO they
can effectively and efficiently contribute to the health sector in the country. The report also
describes the bio-medical model and its application.
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