The Course of Social Policy - Coursework Example

Reflection Introduction This has been instrumental in explaining and illustratingthe relationship between health, gender, and stages in the life cycle of man. Through the topics in the unit, this relationship becomes clearer with regard to age, since the stages of life cycle indicate the development of humans from childhood to old age. Subsequently, studying this unit has equipped with the ability to study the differences in how men and women are affected and their reaction to factors such as health, the environment in which they live, among other variables (Romans & Seaman, 2006). Later Life and Gender Studies into the relationship between gender, health and human life cycle have taken a systematic approach in this unit. During my studies in this module, I found out that there is a positive correlation between gender, health and stages in the human life cycle (Hayward, 2003). From the point of determination of the sex of children, a difference in health trajectory begins to show between the two sexes. These differences vary in kind(Romans & Seaman, 2006). With ageing comes health complications. Ursula Lehr posits that old age is characterised by negative traits such as a decline in the capacities of individuals coupled with dysfunction or complete loss of the vital functions of the human body. In the social construction of old age, sociologists have shared that the current society is based on a ‘cult of youth’, where youthfulness, beauty, vigour and strength have immense value (Romans & Seaman, 2006). The society has a way of constructing a way of viewing issues that do not regard the law. I learned this alongside my colleagues last year in the unit ‘Introduction to Sociology’ where we were first introduced to the concept of social construction. Initially, during my First Year, I thought social constructs only existed in childhood. However, after further studies on the issue, I came to find out that the issue of social constructs can be applied in other issues such as gender, race, mental health and physical disability among others. I now understand that anything that results from shaping and forming by the society is of concern to sociologists and researchers. The number of aged people in Britain could rise to 12 million in the year 2021. This figure could grow further to 15.5 million aged people by the year 2030, according to figures provided by the Office of National Statistics. The number of people expected to be above the age of 80 by the year 2021 is 3 million, with further projected increase to 5.5 million people by the year 2051(Hayward, 2003). I came to understand that even in health centres where the aged ought to get assistance ageism thrives. Aside from adding to the level of knowledge I had on the issues in this topic, this topic formed the basis for me conducting more research on the topic. Currently, I am drafting my dissertation on social care and the elderly. I have learnt that the aged have needs to be met in protecting their health. As a former support worker, I witnessed maltreatment of disabled or impaired persons. This kind of treatment is against the law on protection of human rights, in particular, the rights of disabled persons. As a social policy degree student, I learnt that government policies were not applied in practice. People feel it is okay to treat the elderly in an unlawful manner. It is wrong to discriminate against people on age, race and other lines. Discrimination against black people and people of Asian origin is rife. It is difficult to change people’s notion on disability.people have equal universal rights. I came to learn that this kind of universalism is Crude Universalism. This is one of the concepts which I did not know of prior to taking up this course. Parenthood, Gender and Health The most dominant issue when studying this topic was that families facing more social problems were the families at the brink of poverty. The Labour government came up with the Social Exclusion Unit, which helps with the reintegration of individuals into the society. The policies advocated for by the setting up of this unit, I understood was to encourage work that earned an individual some income, training and honing of skills and supporting education (Romans & Seaman, 2006). There are programmes in place to alleviate the plight of children concerning poverty (Hayward, 2003). First, the Every Child Matters framework and second is the legislation of the Children Act of 2004, which have offered the basis of policies to protect children and young adults from the effects of poverty. The Labour government seeks to reduce the level of child poverty by up to 25%. This is against the backdrop of efforts to eradicate child poverty in Britain by 2020. My assessment is that these goals are unachievable under the prevalent economic conditions caused by the Eurozone Debt Crisis, because the alleviation of poverty levels in children cannot happen without the reduction of the poverty levels of their parents. I found some difficulty in understanding the effectiveness of the measures taken to make this situation better for children. Many factors went unconsidered. The relieving part of my studies in his topic was that there are workable solutions to poverty issues such as supporting parents financially until they get employment, increasing child benefits from the government and the setting up of income-based strategies to assist parents to get employment (Romans & Seaman, 2006). These strategies include the National Childcare Strategy and the Sure Start Centres. In addition to that, this topic addressed at length the issue of male Post Natal Depression. The most intriguing fact to me during my studies into this topic was that men have taken up most issues that women have had such as menopause, sexual health issues, anorexia among others. Post Natal Depression comes about because of men reacting in a manner similar to women after the child has been born. Men have increasingly become more involved in childcare thus going through same issues as women. During studies into this topic, it became clearer to me that aside from biomedicine offering explanations into the matter of PND, the society plays a role in the determination of the extent to which PND applies in the life of men. Men are depressed by societal expectations. By being more involved in childcare, men find themselves exposed to the psychological effects of taking care of infants. Quite fascinating to me was the fact that men get PND despite not having the same hormones as women. It is more psychological when it comes to men. However, hospitals are developing schemes to help men deal with their psychological issues when taking care of infants through offering training and support. Prior to attending classes for this unit, I had not known that men suffer PND too. Most women get depression at the ages towards menopause. This causes problems in controlling their psychological strength, making them more susceptible. Men also develop more responsibilities as they approach the same age. This difference caused by gender is, however, covered rather shallowly in this model, yet could be important in explaining the concept of depression in men (Medical News, 2014). Masculinity This topic gave an interesting insight into the change in the social and economic environment having a major effect on the lives of men. Recent research has deduced that men face the risk of suffering from depression by assuming the roles that before fell under the domain of women. Women still have higher chances of developing depression than men (Romans & Seaman, 2006). A stunning revelation to me during lectures is that there are societal factors that have led to an increase in chances of men undergoing depression. Prior, I knew that depression was different between the sexes. It was interesting to find out that issues such as the loss of jobs, their role in childcare and inability to provide for the family have effects on the self-esteem of men, increasing chances of depression (Hayward, 2003). However, the main issue is the model used in studies on masculinity. The biomedical model, which has been used in this case, is of more benefit now as a social policy in my view. Most social scientists do not regard the biomedical model, with many viewing it as a science. This, however, does not make us able to be biomedical determinists. Biomedical models can help in diagnoses, making a major contribution to the health of people in the society. Conclusion This unit is exhaustive enough on issues regarding human health and the effect that various variables such as gender have on the health of humans. It also offers a thorough investigation into the cultural and social influences that people go through in a gender- differentiated environment (Hayward, 2003). An intense examination of the correlation that exists between genetics, gender, sex and health coupled with the biological developments and social experiences during the life cycle of a human being and how they affect health across both genders has given an educative view to me during the course of these studies. In general, the information disseminated in this unit is invaluable in the understanding of human health matters. Of major concern, however, is the lack of in-depth explanation on the effects of homosexuality as a social factor. It would be prudent to offer more information on homosexuality and social matters such as how they are affected by depression differently from the heterosexual adults (Medicinenet, 2014). This would help in better construction the social set up, providing invaluable information on different gender and how depression affects them. References Romans, S. E., & Seeman, M. V. (2006). Womens mental health: a life-cycle approach. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Hayward, C. (2003). Gender differences at puberty. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Biomedical Model as a Social Policy. (n.d.). Medical News Today. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266749.php Family Practice. (n.d.). Justifiable depression: how primary care professionals and patients view late-life depression? a qualitative study. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/3/369.full Male Menopause: Get Facts about Symptoms and Treatments. (n.d.). MedicineNet. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from http://www.medicinenet.com/male_menopause/article.htm Read More