Sociology in Healthcare - Essay Example

Sociology in Healthcare A brief analysis of the importance of social aspects Sociology in healthcare is a very complex issue and its importance is being increasingly perceived. The implications of sociology in healthcare can be rightly said to be as crucial as the treatment itself. However the understanding and application of relevant social knowledge into this field is also becoming increasingly difficult due to newer health issues and health threats. The steps taken to tackle these in any society may be hindered or facilitated by the belief, culture and economy existing in that society. Therefore the social set up relevant to the healthcare of any society must be rightly identified and studied through proper research. Modern and reliable research into present day healthcare practice is thus becoming increasingly important. Healthcare researchers involved in both qualitative and quantitative research, need to be aware of and understand the issues associated with the research. Quantitative research carried out with care and caution is very influential and provide crucial information on the effects of new drugs on high sample populations. Qualitative research is more directed to understanding human nature, and helps us understand how nursing or healthcare can affect the patient. The qualitative aspect of the research is linked to social anthropology and sociology. These are normally undertaken when not much is known of a topic and strive to put forth a theory (Bassett, 2004). Medical anthropology may be defined as the study of how people of differing cultures and social groups perceive health and health issues. Medical anthropology also associates theses beliefs and practices to biological, psychological and social changes, during health and disease. The cultural background has an important influence on health related beliefs and behaviour. However, one's perception of health and health issues is also influenced by other factors like individual attributes (like age, gender, size etc.), educational attributes, socio-economic criteria and environmental attributes of the individual. As cultures are never homogenous, people's beliefs and behaviour should not be generalized. Differences within members of a cultural group may exist which may even be comparable to differences existing among differing cultures. These cultures are further subdivided through professional sub-cultures like medical, nursing, legal etc.. Students corresponding to such professions, particularly medicine and nursing are subject to enculturation as they acquire the culture of the chosen profession (Helman, 2000). In medical profession, this sub-culture incorporates the existing social divisions and prejudices, which can interfere with healthcare and doctor-patient communication. Research into behavioural and social sciences incorporates a broad aspect of health relevant areas. Such research plays a crucial role in highlighting the important health issues in our society. With the development of such studies, the importance of research findings in understanding, treating and preventing health problems has been considered crucial. The behaviour and social science sectors have begun to be increasingly sought by governmental agencies to advice on policy formations, with regard to health issues. The National Research Council's Division of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) have released over three hundred publications in the last ten years, which are directly or indirectly related to health concerns. These include children, education, family, employment and training. At the individual level, these studies provide knowledge and understanding of health issues like drug, obesity, alcohol abuse, violent behaviour, smoking, stress management, illness coping and health decision making. Such knowledge helps in promoting good health attitudes like well-being, distributing healthcare across geographical, sociological and economical boundaries, use and misuse of healthcare institutions and monitoring health provider's behaviour. The behavioural and social sciences knowledge also help in transferring belief through generations, analyse economics involved in alternate healthcare systems and track social and psychological effects on treatment and recovery (NRC, 2005). It has now been widely acknowledged that certain diseases like heart and lung disease, tuberculosis, malaria etc., hitherto considered a realm of biomedical research, cannot be fully understood and treated without support of behaviour and social research. Medical anthropologists have mostly studied small societies or smaller groups of a large society, concentrating on health prospects at the local and sometimes at the national level. However today, with several common major health threats like over population, pollution, global warming and AIDS epidemic, the need for a wider global study is emphasized. Medical anthropology is now more directed in finding how culture and social factors cannot only damage individual health but also the health of entire human species. Such wider cross cultural approach help in explaining the cause and consequences of global problems at the local level. The concept of medicalisation as put forth by medical sociologists suggest the increased domination of modern medicine into newer regions, which were earlier not considered as medical specializations. Normal biological phases like menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and also situations like unhappiness, loneliness are increasingly addressed through modern medicine. In many societies, ailing people have several sources to seek help from. They may seek health advice from a friend, neighbour, priest, folk healer or a doctor, if available. Some individuals serve as a good source of health advice than others. These include people with a long experience of illness or treatment type, spouses of medical professionals, paramedical professionals and organizers of self help groups (Helman, 2000). A person living in a large and complex society would find more treatment options available to him. It should be noted here that a society's healthcare system cannot be separated from other aspects of that society like its social, economic, political and religious set up. To understand any medical system, it must be seen as a part of its society, taking into consideration the existing political set up, ideology and economy. Different societies have their own distinct medical systems, which have their correspondingly different attitudes to health and illness. Some societies may have free healthcare to emphasize healthcare as a basic right of its citizenship, while some other societies may consider healthcare as a commodity, which should be provided to only those who afford it. Thus the medical system plays along with the ideologies of its society, helping the society retain them. Doctors and patients view ill health in different ways even if they both come from a similar social and cultural background. Assumptions and conclusions in medicine are backed by testing and verifications under stipulated conditions. Sickness is pronounced only when it can be objectively observed and measured. For a patient illness is his individual subjective response and that of those around him who perceive his being unwell. The response includes how the individual and his circle interpret the origin and concerns of the illness and the steps he takes to get rid of it. Generally the patient's perspective on ill health is that it is an aspect of misfortune or a form of adversity. Illness, together with other types of misfortune like roof collapse, crop failure, theft etc., may be attributed to witchcraft or divine punishment. Therefore within a particular culture, illness has a psychological, social and moral angle. In several societies health is perceived as a balanced relationship involving people, nature and the mystical powers. Any change in this equilibrium state is perceived to trigger adversities resulting in physical or emotional signs of ill health. In Western communities, though health is not perceived in such entirety, it includes physical, psychological and behavioural aspects, varying between social classes. It must be noted here that though societies define illness in differing ways, poor people in most societies do not easily acknowledge ill health. Thus some consider backaches as inevitable and part of life and some may consider their ailing children as being normal if the child can walk and play normally. In such cases it is not seen as being necessary to visit a doctor, given their need to keep working under all circumstances and their low expectations of medical care (Helman, 2000). Sometimes medical care is not sought even when it could be afforded because of the gap between illness perceived and the decision to seek medical help. Culture contributes immensely to the effectiveness of pharmacology. Factors like personality, social and cultural backgrounds affect the medication process on human physiology and emotional state. The ultimate drug effect is therefore dependent on several factors and hence people respond differently to the same medication or drug. Powerful drugs, like poisonous substances however exert its pharmacological actions without much influence from other factors. The qualities of the drug like its taste, odour or colour itself have an effect on its medication properties. The effect of the medication also depends on the age, experience, education and socio-cultural background of the patient as well as the age, personality and attitude of the prescriber. The placebo effect where the ultimate drug effect is achieved without the use of drugs, is highly culture based. Although placebo and their effectiveness are widely reported, not much is known of its mechanism. However placebos suitable for one cultural group may not be suitable for another group. A relationship of mutual trust, confidence and understanding between the prescriber and the patient contributes to the placebo effect. The perception of illness and treatment expectations of the patient should be inline with the prescriber's therapy approach. Belief, expectations and healer-patient relationship also have its own therapeutic effects, which have been utilized in every culture throughout history. The rapid globalisation of healthcare and its associated commercial interests already have several ethical issues to be sorted out, like in the case of stem cell technology, euthanasia etc. All such issues can be sorted out and healthcare delivered effectively only when associated social aspects are considered. Obviously, one should bear in mind that such research would be never ending as the addressed issues often resurface in a varied form, thanks to environmental issues, geographical and cultural reorganization. REFERENCES National Research Council (U.S). 2005, Advancing the Nation's health Needs, National Academics. Washington D.C. Bassett, C. (ed.) 2004, Qualitative Research in Health Care, Whurr Publishers, London Helman, G.C. 2000, Culture, Health and Illness, 4th ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Read More