Pattern and Trends in Health and Social Care - Assignment Example

?Introduction to Sociology Independent Research: Pattern and Trends in Health and Social Care Social Trends Social trends refer to the general course or tendency in which humanity and society take part, and in most cases is either fad or some craze that is more long-lasting. It may also imply a persistent change in social structure and social relations over time (Hagell 2012). Social Trends in England draws together economic as well as social data from a wide variety of government departments and other vital organizations. Overall, it paints a broad picture of contemporary societies in the UK along with how these societies keep changing. The trends relate to the fundamental cultural and social values as well as practices within a societal set up. Although there is always variation in the duration that a social trend takes before a society changes to a different craze, it usually lasts between two to five years in the English case (Hagell 2012). These trends will apparently explain why people behave the way they do. Besides, social trends are intergenerational which implies that they might involve different generations, or passed from one generation to another. However, there are certain trends that only concern or relate to a specific group hence only members of the group or faction recognize and feel the effects of the trend (Hagell 2012). Otherwise, many of the social trends are universal meaning they affect the entire society andchange in such trend would imply societal transformation to a new social order. Contemporary organizations in England have incorporated these trends into their strategies, product development, and communication. Although trends affect the social set up and systems of society, the fundamental aspect that determine its actual impact is sustainability. The ability to improve or maintain the societal spectrum is a major concern to modern organizations (Hagell 2012). It is imperative to reiterate that trends are the collective impact or effect of several uncoordinated individual as well as group actions. Some of these trends have emerged to be the greatest challenges for England and Europe as a whole in the next two or more decades (Hagell 2012). Hence, it is important that the UK prepare for them in advance and by extension form part of the social strategies. A Girl guiding report revealed that a growing number of girls and young women in the UK are unhappy with their looks hence self-esteem is commonplace. The report also identified sexual harassment as one of the fast growing trends characterized by a rather harsh judgment of sexual behavior of women. The media has put immense pressure on the girls to conform to the stereotyped versions of beauty. In addition, bullying on social media has emerged to be another trend mainly directed towards young girls and women. Although the effects are socially and psychologically devastating to the victims, they seldom report to their parents or law enforcement authorities. Instead, they choose to deal with it on their own. The survey further revealed that a considerable number of girls are spending huge sums of money on beauty products. Moreover, another research has indicated that smart phones have reduced the frequency at which Britons have sex. The report that was published in the Lancet revealed that people within the age bracket of 16-44 years only manage to have sex five times a month. However, three times a month is the overall frequency for the adult population in England. Other demographic changes have also attributed to the findings of the study. For instance, few couples today live together. In addition, more single-person households are taking shape in most communities and regions in the country. The rise in the number of unemployed youth has also reportedly led to decline in the sexual function. Apparently, low self-esteem and growing depression among unemployed youths have contributed immensely to the low sexual function. Other popular societal trends include citizens and society, population and migration, and employment and equality. For instance, UK society has persistently initiated strategies that aim to improve equality in employment regardless of race, gender or religious orientation. Furthermore, the future of work as well as workspace, income inequality, the emergence of a stronger middle class and the potential consequences are crucial aspects of employment and equality. Population and migration primarily cover the demographics, including changes in the living arrangements, population growth, economic growth, social organizations, ageing together with its consequences. The collective trend of citizens and society encompasses roles between individuals, society, and the government, including the perceived potential along with impacts on education transformation, social innovation, modern technologies and effects of media on empowerment and democracy. Many of the people in England adopt existing trends but are oblivious of the reality that these trends pose significant effect on countries and territories around them. This explains why a trend that started in a given city eventually finds its way into the neighboring districts and eventually becoming a dominant craze in the entire country. Migrations would further facilitate the process of neighboring territories acquiring the trend, as migrants would tend to carry the trend with them. When a society or social group practices a social trend for a considerable period of more than five years, it becomes part of their culture. Similarly, a social trend may affect individuals despite such individuals being largely unaware that the same trend affects other individuals in a similar manner. A social trend will affect society in both a positive and negative way. The Black Report (1980) The Black report was a document published by the Department of Health and Social Security in the United Kingdom in 1980. The department is currently referred to as Department of Health. According to the document, there was a substantial and continued improvement in health care across the country in the first 35 years of the National Health Service. However, it further revealed a rise in co-relation between infant mortality rates and social class, inequality in the use of medical services, and life expectancy. In essence, the social class highly influenced the mortality rate of infants in health care facilities. The co-relation was such that infant or babies belonging to well-to-do families seldom succumbed to infancy-related ailments and complications. Availability and accessibility of quality care was the main reason for low death rates of these infants. In contrast, a considerable number of infants belonging to low-income families and neighborhoods succumbed to childhood diseases because they could not afford the arguably costly care. Hence, majority resorted to care avenues that most cases further complicated the health conditions of ailing babies. Similarly, the report highlighted the co-relation between social class and life expectancy. For instance, children hailing from rich families had better, and higher life expectancy compared to their counterparts from low-income households. Incidentally, children from well-to-do households could access better health facilities, better nutrition, and were brought up in environments that subjected to minimal threats to contracting communicable diseases and other health complications. Children from underprivileged families were exposed to greater risks of contracting infections given the nature of the environmental set up. There were also inequalities in the use of medical facilities and services. For example, the well-to-do households could access better medical services mostly located in the urban areas. Besides, many of these families had personal and family doctors. This implies; the physicians routinely visited their homes to check their health statuses, adults and children included. Hence, the physician could adequately detect in time the risk or danger to their health and induce a medical intervention accordingly. The Black report showed that the death rate between men and women equaled out. Many years before, men and infants were the once that medical and care reports had indicated to be dying off fast. These were the days of Mrs. Thatcher when the healthcare service clearly needed a complete overhaul. It was one of the most influential reports of the working group chaired by Sir Douglas Black. The report that was presented to the government in 1980 synthesized a lot of evidence essentially available fragmented forms and academic journals. It suggested that the British health service had failed to reduce the inequalities in health especially with reference to social class. For instance, majority of men and women employees in various organizations are more likely to die early compared to those in the professional or managerial classes. Similarly, the report asserted that children born to working-class parents were exposed to higher mortality risks, injury and illnesses, as opposed to those arising from middle-class backgrounds. It further highlighted that, despite the absolute improvements in the rates already achieved, certain class differentials in terms of health outcomes had clearly increased over a thirty-year period since the establishment of the National Health Service. The flawed workings of the healthcare system and the obvious healthcare inequalities have contributed to the class differentials. In essence, the system was biased toward certain social classes in the provision of care services. The country’s healthcare system favored the few privileged professional and managerial classes that arguably paid huge amounts to get quality care, as opposed to the working middle class who mainly depended on government interventions that improved accessibility to low-income families. These restrictions to access of quality care further complicated the goal of the National Health Service of providing universal access of affordable and quality healthcare services to all citizens in the United Kingdom. The social inequalities that dominated working, housing, and distribution of income seemed to take a toll on the aspiration to achieve affordable care to all. One of the essential steps the report had pointed out on the road to improving care is the need to increase opportunities for advancements in education. It is imperative that the society invest more on education to attain improvement in the number of physicians, nurses, and other care professionals attending to the patients. Some of the problems that affected fair and efficient delivery of care services were due to lack of enough expertise to cater for the rising number of patients thronging hospitals, clinics, and other care organizations. Finally, the report suggested that major initiatives in community health, primary care, and preventive medicine would be integral to improving the health standards. Moreover, a radical shift in social policy to improve the living standards of working classes would be critical to improving the standards of services provided by the country’s care facilities. The Current Pattern and Trend in the UK Concerning Breast Cancer Breast cancer has emerged to be the most common cancer in the United Kingdom accounting for lives of thousands of women annually. Approximately 48000 women in the UK contract breast cancer every year. Majority of the new cases of breast cancer (8 out of 10) are mostly women over 50 years (NHS 2012). However, younger women as well as men can also get cancer though such cases are minimal. Breast cancer has several symptoms although the universally notable symptom is usually thickening of lump in the breast tissue. However, it is important to note that not all breast lumps are cancerous. Cancer might not spread to other parts of the body if detected during early stages (NHS 2012). Different forms of breast cancer can develop in different parts of the breast. Breast cancer is mainly divided into invasive and the non-invasive cancer. Invasive breast cancer usually has the ability to spread beyond the breast area. A typical case in point is the ductal breast cancer that develops in the cells lining the breast ducts. The invasive ductal breast cancer contributes to more than 80 percent of all breast cancer cases in the UK and the world at large (NHS 2012). The non-invasive breast cancer, on the other hand, is a cancer found in the ducts of the breast though has not developed the capacity to spread outside the breast. Non-invasive cancer seldom shows as a lump but instead found on a mammogram. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the most common type of non-invasive breast cancer. Other less common breast cancer types include the inflammatory breast cancer, Paget’s disease of the breast, and the invasive lobular breast cancer. Invasive lobular cancer develops in the cells lining the lobules that produce milk (NHS 2012). Figure 1: Causes of Cancer Mortality in Women in UK Source: Cancer Research Campaign Researchers in the UK are yet to establish the exact causes of breast cancer. However, factors such as family history and age have increased chances of contracting the disease. That is; families with a history of breast cancer are more likely to experience an instant or instances of such cases (NHS 2012). Thus, most care facilities and organizations in the UK offer screening as well as genetic testing to women who are at higher risk of developing breast cancer. Since the risk of getting the disease increases with age, nearly all hospitals invite women aged 50-70 for breast cancer screening. This exercise is usually conducted after every three years. Treatment of breast cancer involves combining surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Nevertheless, hormonal or biological treatments will also be vital for treating some forms of cancer. Overall, cancer can be treated if it is recovered during the early stages to allow the patient a chance to recover well (NHS 2012). Therefore, it is necessary that women attend cancer treatment facilities and departments for regular checks for any changes and ensure their GP examines the occurrence of any changes. Gender and Ethnicity The United Kingdom has adopted strategies and policy frameworks that seek to ensure people of different gender get fair and reasonable health and social care. For instance, it is an offense for any care provider to discriminate patients based on their gender or even ethnicity (Karsten 2006). Men and women from different ethnic groups have equal access to care provided they are affordable to them considering their levels of income. The scheme further seeks to ensure that care services are spread across all vital towns and in the rural areas. The latest statistics of the National Health Service shows a tendency where care providers and the government strive to achieve gender parity in various aspects of health, social care and development (Karsten 2006). For example, any qualified personnel regardless of gender or even the ethnic group now perform jobs that were traditionally meant for a specific gender. The greatest beneficiaries of the new look UK health care are women who incidentally have expanded their knowledge and expertise in a number of specialties contrary to the situation in the 1980s. That is; women have made successful physicians and care experts in various areas of expertise (Karsten 2006). Although the whites are the majority in the United Kingdom, the government and social organizations have initiated structures that aim to ensure other smaller ethnic groups also play a vital role in nation building. For example, the Asians, the Bangladeshi, the Black Caribbean, the Black Africans, the Indians, Chinese, and other ethnic groups are involved in various matters that affect them directly or indirectly. According to the data released by the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales in 2009, Whites comprised 87.9% while other races and ethnic groups only 12.1% (Karsten 2006). The races and ethnic groups that constitute 12.1 percent include Bangladeshi (0.7%), Pakistani (1.8%), Indian (2.6%), Mixed (1.8%), Chinese (0.8%), Black African (1.5%), Black Caribbean (1.1%), Other Asian (0.7%), Other Black (0.2%), and any other ethnic groups (0.8%). Figure 2: The Population of England and Wales going by the ethnic group (2009) Source: Experimental Population estimates by Ethnic Groups Different social groupings influence patterns in health and illness. This explains why certain ethnic groups are highly vulnerable to certain health risks and illness compared to others. The UK care set up provides an impartial platform that offers equality to people of different gender as well as race or ethnic groups to participate in activities and measures geared towards improving livelihoods, health care, and living standards of everyone (Karsten 2006). Social groupings such as a family unit, religious organization, ethnic groups, race, and political outfits have enormous influence on the subject of health. For instance, some religious groups may hold on beliefs and traditions that discourage particular gender from attending care facilities for examination or even treatment. A typical case in point is the issue of breast cancer mainly affecting the female gender (Karsten 2006). Certain religious groups might consider it as a curse to the victims for particular wrongs they did. Thus, they do not believe it could be a medical condition that may only be countered through medical intervention. Such patients end up dying as family members decline to take them to the nearest cancer facility (Brooks & Harris 2006). Sometimes, the victims themselves also turn down efforts to take her to the hospital since she is convinced that the condition is beyond doctor’s intervention. Family units also influence the patterns in health and illness because family members may approve or disapprove of certain forms of care, prevention or treatment. Some hold strong beliefs that determine even the kind of care providers they approach in time of need while other families have personal physician who not only treat a member when sick, but also carry out regular checks or examination on each member (Brooks & Harris 2006). How health is measured and the difficulties under which health and illnesses are measured Several techniques can be used to measure health. Health measurement takes to dimension: measuring health gains and measuring losses in health. To measure health changes effectively, it is imperative that the care provider consider good reporting along with a suitable recording system. Besides, the care provider in East London should take into account the need to protect the privacy of the individual and the ongoing biostatical analysis of data that has already accumulated. For instance, sequential analysis and system analysis are remarkable techniques that can be used to measure health in the public health sector (Brooks & Harris 2006). Apparently, sequential analysis has been used in other quarters for product quality control. System analysis, on the other hand, has been integral to the prediction of the outcome of a rather complicated situation or interaction between interdependent variables. In other scenario, the measurement of the entire population’s health is determined by aggregating the data that has already been collected on individuals (Brooks & Harris 2006). Some of the commonly applicable measures of health status of the population include morbidity techniques/measures, mortality measures, and life expectancy. The mortality rate (death rate), for instance, would imply taking the number of deaths in the population during a specified period then dividing by the number of persons in the population during that particular period. Death Rate = Number of deaths in the population during a specified time ___________________________________________________________________ The number of persons in the population during the specified Period The rampant increases in the death rate due to the disease outbreak or other factors might prompt the National Health Service to initiate the mechanism to measure the number of people the country has lost so far over the specified period since the pandemic broke out. In the same way, the government would probably wish to know the extent of infection because of disease outbreak to establish the appropriate measure to take to save lives of those at risk of contracting the disease. Strengths and Limitations of Quantitative Data Every research undertaking has distinctive features right from the goals and objectives to the techniques of data collection. A quantitative research involves the use of data to analyze findings and assumptions about a phenomenon (Cramer 2003). Quantitative data would enable the researcher to carry out numerical analysis and evaluation of a particular phenomenon under study. Furthermore, this kind data will enable the researcher to evaluate both the independent and dependent variables accurately and comprehensively. In addition, the quantitative data will be vital to testing of the hypothesis. However, the major limitation of quantitative data is that it requires the researcher to conduct a study on a huge portion of the population (Cramer 2003). Furthermore, quantitative data makes any researcher ignorant of the content of the study. Therefore, a researcher might end up conducting a researcher by carrying out the necessary measurements oblivious of the goal and intent of the study. Sociological Explanations Natural/Social selection Under natural selection, the researcher will allow the inherent adaptations or attributes to foster survival of an individual in a societal set up. Cultural/Behavioral Culture highly influences the social and psychological well being of the individual in society. The individual or group will exhibit behaviors that are distinctive of their inherent cultural beliefs and traditions. In East London, for example, certain ethnic groups practice culture that clearly defines how they relate with other members of the groups and those outside the group. Cultural practices and beliefs also contributed to high mortality and morbidity rates as some females were hesitant to visit care providers for examination and treatment because the cultures did not recognize medical interventions. Materialist/Structuralism Artifact Biological Mortality and Morbidity Breast Cancer within Gender and Ethnicity Gender and ethnicity had considerable influence in the mortality and morbidity rate in several areas of East London. In particular, the female mostly in their late 50s were having breast cancer. In the same way, the spread of the disease was evidently high in areas where majority of residents were elderly women in their 60s and 70s (Mansi & Rayter 2003). However, men and teenagers recorded the least number of cases of breast cancer in the entire East London. The latest statistics of the National Health Service shows a tendency where care providers and the government strive to achieve gender parity in various aspects of health, social care and development. For example, any qualified personnel regardless of gender or even the ethnic group now perform jobs that were traditionally meant for specific gender (Mansi & Rayter 2003). The greatest beneficiaries of the new look England health care are women who incidentally have expanded their knowledge and expertise in a number of specialties contrary to the situation in the 1980s. That is, women have made successful physicians and care experts in various areas of expertise (Mansi & Rayter 2003). Although the whites are the majority in the United Kingdom, the government and social organizations have initiated structures that aim to ensure other smaller ethnic groups also play a vital role in nation building. For example, the Asians, the Bangladeshi, the Black Caribbean, the Black Africans, the Indians, Chinese, and other ethnic groups are involved in various matters that affect them directly or indirectly. Links in sociological Perspective: Marxism, Functionalism, and Interacterism Breast cancer has a number of symptoms although the universally notable symptom is usually thickening of lump in the breast tissue. However, it is important to note that not all breast lumps are cancerous (Hiscox, Gee & Nicholson 2009). Cancer might not spread to other parts of the body if detected during early stages. Different forms of breast cancer can develop in different parts of the breast. Breast cancer is mainly divided into invasive and the non-invasive cancer. Invasive breast cancer usually has the ability to spread beyond the breast area. A typical case in point is the ductal breast cancer that develops in the cells lining the breast ducts (Hiscox, Gee & Nicholson 2009). The invasive ductal breast cancer contributes to more than 80 percent of all breast cancer cases in the UK and the world at large. In conclusion, low self-esteem and growing depression among jobless youths have contributed immensely to the low sexual function. Other popular societal trends include citizens and society, population and migration, and employment and equality (Hiscox, Gee & Nicholson 2009). For instance, UK society has persistently initiated strategies that aim to improve equality in employment regardless of race, gender or religious orientation. Furthermore, the future of work as well as workspace, income inequality, the emergence of a stronger middle class and the potential consequences are crucial aspects of employment and equality. Population and migration primarily cover the demographics, including changes in the living arrangements, population growth, economic growth, social organizations, ageing together with its consequences. These trends will apparently explain why people behave the way they do (Hiscox, Gee & Nicholson 2009). Besides, social trends are intergenerational which implies that they might involve different generations, or passed from one generation to another. However, there are certain trends that only concern or relate to a specific group hence only members of the group or faction recognize and feel the effects of the trend. Otherwise, many of the social trends are universal meaning they affect the entire society and change in such trend would imply societal transformation to a new social order. References Brooks, S. A., & Harris, A. (2006). Breast Cancer Research Protocols. Totowa, NJ, Humana Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1385/1592599699.. Cramer, D. (2003). Advanced quantitative data analysis. Philadelphia, PA, Open University Press. Greer, S. L. (2004). Territorial politics and health policy: UK health policy in comparative perspective. New York Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave. Hagell, A. (2012). Changing adolescence: social change and its role in adolescent mental health. Bristol, Policy. Harmer, V. (2011). Breast cancer nursing: care and management. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K., Wiley-Blackwell. Hiscox, S., Gee, J., & Nicholson, R. I. (2009). Therapeutic resistance to anti-hormonal drugs in breast cancer: new molecular aspects and their potential as targets. [Dordrecht], Springer. Karsten, M. F. (2006). Management, gender, and ethnicity in the United States. Westport, Conn. [u.a.], Praeger. Mansi, J., & Rayter, Z. (2003). Medical therapy of breast cancer. Cambridge [u.a.], Cambridge University Press. NHS (2012): Breast Cancer (Female). 9th July 2012. Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/cancer-of-the-breast-female/Pages/Introduction.aspx Oates, B. J. (2006). Researching information systems and computing. London [u.a.], SAGE. Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2011). Mass media research: an introduction. Boston, Mass, Cengage- Wadsworth. 233 Read More