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Health and the Environment

Health and the Environment. Chapter 17. Sociological Perspectives on Health and Illness. Health : “State of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (Leavell and Clark) Health and illness are socially constructed.

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Health and the Environment

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  1. Health and the Environment Chapter 17

  2. Sociological Perspectives on Health and Illness • Health: “State of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (Leavell and Clark) • Health and illness are socially constructed

  3. Culture and Health • Culture-bound syndrome: Disease or illness that cannot be understood apart from its specific social context • Anorexia nervosa

  4. Society impacts health • Cultural patterns define health • Cultural standards of health change over time • Technology affects people’s health • Social inequality affects people’s health

  5. Social Epidemiology and Health • Social epidemiology: Study of distribution of disease, impairment, and general health status across a population • Incidence: Number of new cases of a specific disorder occurring within a given population during a stated period of time, usually a year

  6. Social Epidemiology and Health • Prevalence: Number of cases of specific disorder that exist at a given time • Morbidity rates: Disease incidence figures presented as rates or number of reports per 100,000 people

  7. Social Class • People in lower classes have higher rates of mortality and disability • Appear to be cumulative • Less able to afford quality medical care • Conflict theorists: capitalist societies care more about maximizing profits than they do about the health and safety of industrial workers

  8. Race and Ethnicity • Health profiles of racial and ethnic groups reflect social inequality in U.S. • Poor economic and environmental conditions manifested in high morbidity and mortality rates

  9. Gender • Women experience higher prevalence of many illnesses but tend to live longer • Lower rate of cigarette smoking • Lower alcohol consumption • Lower rate of employment in dangerous occupations • Women more likely to seek treatment

  10. Age • Most older people in U.S. have at least one chronic illness • Older people vulnerable to certain types of mental health problems • Older people use more health services than younger people

  11. Sociological Perspectives on the Environment • Environment people live in has noticeable effect on their health • Increases in population, together with economic development, have serious environmental consequences

  12. Demography • The study of human population • Fertility • Mortality • Migration

  13. Fertility • the incidence of childbearing in a society’s population • Crude birth rate – the number of live births in a given year for every thousand people in a population

  14. Mortality • the incidence of death in a society’s population • Crude death rate – the number of deaths in a given year for every thousand people in a population • Infant mortality rate – number of deaths among infants under 1 year of age for every thousand live births in a given year • Life expectancy – the average life span of a society’s population

  15. Migration • the movement of people into and out of a specified territory • Immigration – movement into a territory • Emigration – movement out of a territory • Net-migration – the difference between the immigration and emigration rate

  16. Population Growth • Growth rate – the difference between births and deaths, plus the difference between immigrants and emigrants per 1,000 population.

  17. Malthusian Theory • Rapid population growth leads to social chaos • Population increases exponentially(1,2,4,8,16, etc) while food increases arithmetically(1,2,3,4), leading to catastrophic starvation • Why not? • Industrial revolution • Agricultural technology

  18. Demographic Transition • Population patterns reflect a society’s level of technological development • Stage 1 – preindustrial - high birth, high death • Stage 2 – onset of industrial – high birth, lower death • Stage 3 – industrial – declining birth, low death • Stage 4 – postindustrial – low birth, steady death

  19. Human Ecology • Interrelationships between people and their spatial setting and physical environment

  20. Urban Ecology • Interrelationships as they emerge in urban areas • Concentric –zone theory- • Spread from center • Multiple-nuclei theory – • Many centers of development • Suburban design

  21. Environment Deficit • Profound and negative harm to the natural environment, caused by humanity’s focus on short-term material affluence

  22. Environmental Racism • Pattern by which environmental hazards are greatest for poor people, especially minorities • Environmental justice – legal strategy

  23. Ecological Modernization • Ecological modernization: focus on alignment of environmentally favorable practices with economic self-interest through constant adaptation and restructuring • Macro level: reintegrating industrial waste back into the production process • Micro level: reshaping individual lifestyles

  24. Ecologically Sustainable Culture • A way of life that meets the needs of the present generation without threatening the environmental legacy of future generations • Control population growth • Conserve finite resources • Reduce waste

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