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1. How does the World Health Organization define the concept of health?
Answer: The WHO’s definition of health consists of three parts: physical, social, and mental health. Physical health, according to this definition, is related to the functioning of the body. Mental health refers to well-being in terms of an individual’s ability to realize their potential and cope with the normal stresses in life. The social component of health refers to the role of social connections in determining health outcomes. Research shows that the more integrated an individual is with others and with institutions in our society, the healthier they tend to be.
2. What is the sick role theory and how has it been criticized?
Answer: The sick role was a theory developed by structural functionalist Talcott Parsons to explain how people who are ill take action to minimize their disruptive impact on others in order to maintain normality, or close to it. The sick role is a set of social expectations about how to act when we are sick that includes three main parts. The first part is that the sick person is not held personally responsible for their poor health. The second is that the person is entitled to certain rights and privileges. Finally, the sick person is expected to take sensible steps to regain their health. This theory has been criticized on the grounds of a lack of clarity regarding when the person is able to adopt the sick role and for a lack of clarity surrounding who has the power to deem who is sick and who is not. As well, it’s also been criticized for failing to address how the sick role changes over time and differs depending on culture.
3. What are the factors of the social determinants of health?
Answer: Sociologists of health believe the social determinants of health are comprised of immediate, individual-level conditions such as our age, sex, and other genetic factors. The next set of conditions that comprise the social determinants of our health are individual lifestyle choices. The social determinants of health also revolve around social and community networks and a whole range of factors related to living and working conditions. Other factors along those lines include education and housing conditions. The last factors comprising the social determinants of health are general socio-economic, cultural, and environmental conditions. The social determinants of health are thus comprised of individual-level conditions with the remaining conditions shaping the social determinants of health for everyone’s lives.
4. Why is education such an important predictor of an individual’s health?
Answer: Education is an important predictor of an individual’s health for three main reasons. The first is that education is related to social class and income, two important predictors of health. Second, education tends to improve our ability to understand health information. Third, education increases your feelings of efficacy, or the belief that you can change things around you. Both these factors may lead to an individual changing their behaviour to improve their health in the long term.
5. How do sociologists of health explain the fact that women live longer than men but often report poorer health outcomes than men?
Answer: Sociologists of health would explain this seeming contradiction by explaining how it is related to the fact that women live longer than men and experience poorer health outcomes than men in old age as a result. Men are socialized in North American society to be aggressive and take risks, which tends to result in statistically shorter lives and hence fewer opportunities to deal with the long-term, chronic illnesses that strike women in old age.