Society and Communicable Diseases - Essay Example

"Society and Communicable Diseases" is a good example of a paper on social and family issues.
As a society, certain communicable diseases are highly prioritized over others. This is due to many different factors. Some factors include education about the diseases, vaccines available, the disease's ability to spread, media involvement, and the diagnosis of physicians. Each one of these roles is very important to society as they either create or break barriers that are used to treat certain diseases.

Society in general is responsible for their actions and the actions of others. These actions have effects on how society can portray something. Education involving communicable diseases like TB, chickenpox, and influenza is what determines an individual’s feelings toward a certain disease. One may have had chickenpox as a child and it wasn’t a big deal. On the other hand, an individual could have had a severe case of chickenpox as a child and been hospitalized. How much the individual knows about the disease and has experienced determines how certain diseases are prioritized. “It is believed that fear is what causes society to feel a certain way about certain diseases”. (Smith, C. B., Battin, M. P., Jacobson, J. A., Francis, L. P., Botkin, J. R., Asplund, E. P., & ... Hawkins, B. 2004)

The amount of vaccines and their effectiveness is thought to be able to control and ease the fear of society. If there are enough vaccines available to control a disease then it is likely the disease will not be as high of a priority as it can likely be contained. Diseases that are new and highly contagious with no vaccine will always be pushed to the highest level of priority and concern as they pose the most threat. This doesn't mean that diseases that are of low threat should be ignored. It is still very important to ensure that necessary precautionary steps are taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

Society does have rights regarding the treatment of disease and many may not be willing to accept treatment or vaccines. This means that it is hard for physicians and centers for disease control to completely rule out the chance of infection. “It is also a concern since although communicable diseases such as smallpox have been overruled by the WHO, they can still be used as a threat to society by a terrorist”. (Dute 2004)

The media also plays a role in the way society feels toward certain diseases and how they should be prioritized. The media can mass-produce images, articles, and even false information about a certain issue. The public as a whole usually believes what is being said and then forms an opinion. If the media is announcing that Europe is seeing a threat of a new influenza virus and it is likely to make it to America, that new virus will be of the highest priority.

Since physicians are in control of administering vaccines and ensuring proper use, physicians play a large role in the control and prioritization of communicable diseases. A study conducted in 2004, “showed that many physicians take the use of vaccines seriously and professionally but there is still an alarming number of physicians who do not have vaccines readily available for patient use”. (Campos-Outcalt, D., Jeffcott-Pera, M., Carter-Smith, P., Schoof, B., & Young, H.2010)

Communicable diseases are important to society and can be contained and addressed if sources are made available. Many different factors contribute to the way that society prioritizes diseases. Society certainly prioritizes communicable diseases based on the level of threat and amount of damage the diseases can cause. This means that some diseases can go ignored but should not be forgotten.