Sociological Theories

Discuss About The International Journal Of Islamic Thought.

The transformation is taking at a very fast pace starting from the capital expansion, moving with globalization and aligning with technological advancements leading to various visible consequences, such as increased in social injustice an inequality.

The discussion of the “social” comes in light when it influences on the health sector. This forces the World Health Organization (WHO) to create a commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) so that a promotion can be done to acknowledge the importance of social determinants for the individuals and the whole population, which help all to find out the way to combat with these issues. The main objective of this commission was to collect and synthesize the evidence for determining the social determinants of health and its impact on health inequalities and well as provide necessary recommendations.

Sociological theories consist the core principles and strength of the provision of this approach. Several sociologists study social phenomena at different stages and from different perceptions. They also learn every aspect from necessary events (which comprise the micro level of analysis of society) to the vast portrait (which includes macro-level analysis of large social patterns). The revolutionary European sociologists presented a boarder view of essentials and approaches which provide sociologist with a framework and position to check the relationship among the society and its people Martino, L. (2017). As per the study, the two major macro-level perspectives studied are conflicted approach and functionalist approach (Martindale, 2013). All these perspectives give a unique view to sociologists which state paradigms stating how society stimulates people, and vice versa (Collyer & Scambler 2015). All approach distinctively theorizes society, social forces, and behaviour of human (Crossman, 2018).

According to the conflict theory, the societies are competing for the limited resources which create perpetual conflicts.  This theory focused on discrimination in the quality of well-being and of health-care delivery. Various civilization discriminations like social class, race, and ethnicity are affecting all health and health care (Laluddin, 2016). Social disadvantages like crime affect people to become ill and later on inadequate health care make the situation worse which creates more difficulty in making them well.

This approach also states the energies of doctors over the time to govern the practice in medical stage and to determine several issues or social harms in a timely manner. Physicians are encouraged for doing is characterized by both good and bad. The good perspective is that they know the truth that the talent lies inside and being professionalism they have a duty to diagnose any patient for the purpose of cure. Contrary, according to the bad perspective, they give importance to money by aligning social issues with medical complications and in dominating the cure and treatment by addressing these syndromes (Wagner, 1963). This results in over sighting the potential solutions.

Conflict Theory and Health Care

A criticism with examples can illustrate this statement  – Variety of medicines are available but the physicians criticize it honestly by saying that these alternatives are inadequate and can be dangerous as they know that this will affect their financial term in their life.

Midwives care can be used as another example. In the previous century, midwives help fertile females in deliver their child (Ehrenreich, 2010) but later on physicians feel that these midwives are unauthorized and untrained who can deliver the babies adequately and later on won the legislation of where only the physicians can help the women’s in delivering babies (Reid, 2012).

At last, with the help of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, many hyperactive babies are now diagnosed but these children majorly know as an overly active few generations ago. A drug named Ritalin is also being developed which limits hyperactivity and then their actions are treated as to be a medical issue that leads ADHD diagnosis to be used at increasingly rate results in giving that drug to around ten thousand children’s in the physician’s office which is a very lucrative condition for physicians.

By examine it critically, it can be said that this approach is going on the wrong side in the assessment of health and medicine due to the physician’s motivation where they interest is lying over the financial bed. It cannot be neglected that scientific medicine is having a great and positive impact on the health of people but it is wrapping in the motives of physicians. The physicians are giving priority to their economic considerations which are directly or indirectly impact the life and healthy society.

The next theory called as Functionalism theory contains the functionalist perspective which is based on an approach that states well health and good medical attention plays a significant role for the public. This improves the capacity of people to accomplish various roles in the society as if public suffer from illness than there will be a negative impact on the functioning of society and thus stability cannot be maintained (Thompson, 2008). This concept also an emphasis on premature death as this binds the hand of beings from fully achieving their social roles which leads to a poor return to the society.

In this approach, there is no focus on those individuals who are sick due to legitimate disease. Also there will be less sympathy if the real problem is their self-issue like driving drunk, eating high-fat food, obsessed with something etc. Phycology states that sick people must want to get well but for those individuals who are faking their illness, then they cannot be called as legitimately ill by the relatives of that person and by society itself.

Functionalism Theory and Public Health

So, the above-mentioned conditions are met where the family, friends and other people treated sick people sick, then only they are exempted from their standard obligation (White, 2016). Also sometimes, of sick people want to leave the bed and to go active, they are pressurized to stay in bed for rest.

Considering all this, the physician’s role is here to perform their obligation like diagnosing a sick person, analyzing the way of treating, and again make the person well. Under this process, the cooperation of the patient is very necessary where the physician’s questions are accurately answered and necessary instructions are followed. This form as a hierarchical relationship between physician and patient where the physicians give the order and the patient acknowledges that same as prescribed.

Thus, the significance of well health is very important for the society health, but this approach has been condemning for various reasons like the likelihood of becoming ill and superior medical care one receives and physician-patient relationship is affected by the social background. According to several experts, there is a need of reduction of this hierarchy and this can only happen if a person as an individual takes an active role for maintaining their health by asking more number of questions from physicians regarding their health as some physicians do not provide quality medical care to an extent.

In the social model, the way society is organized creates differences whereas, in the medical model, of disability, differences and impairments are the main reason due to which people are disabled. In the medical model, it is necessary to fix these differences or impairments through any medical or other treatment. There should be no hold for this treatment even if the difference does not cause any pain or illness. Also here, an agent of remedy can be an advocate, individual or anyone who affects the activities between the individual and the society.

In the medical model, it is checked that what is wrong with the person and not what is the need of the person. So, it goes with low expectation where people are moved towards losing their freedom, choice and control in their own lives. Here, the remedy for the disability-related problem is cure or normalization of the individual. In addition, a professional individual is the agent of remedy (Goodman, 2012). Example of medical model – If a student is unable to enter into the building due to using of a wheelchair, then according to the medical model this is due to because of the wheelchair, rather than the steps.

In the medical model, there is a perception or belief that the complications related with the disability come from wholly disabled individual and that individual need to ensure that it will not cause any inconvenience to someone. The social model approach is broad in nature and pro-active thoughts are set where it states how disabled person can be a part of various activities and treated on to be the same path as a non-disabled person and this leads to people to willingly accept this model.

At last, the social model helps the disabled people in getting equal rights and this contribution is incalculable.

References

Collyer, F., & Scambler, G. (2015). The Sociology of Health, Illness and Medicine: Institutional Progress and Theoretical Frameworks. The Palgrave Handbook of Social Theory in Health, Illness and Medicine, 1-15.

Crossman, A. (2018). Major Sociological Theories. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/sociology-research-and-statistics-s2-3026650

Ehrenreich, B. (2010). Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers. New York: Feminist Press.

Goodman, B. (2012). What implications do the differences between a social and medical model of health have for the nursing profession?. Retrieved from: https://www.bennygoodman.co.uk/what-implications-do-the-differences-between-a-social/

Laluddin, H. (2016). A Review of Three Major Sociological Theories and an Islamic Perspective. International Journal of Islamic Thought. 10. 8-26.

Martindale, D. (2013). The Nature and Types of Sociological Theory. New York: Taylor & Francis.

Martino, L. (2017). Section 1: The theoretical perspectives and methods of enquiry of the sciences concerned with human behavior. Retrieved from: https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/medical-sociology-policy-economics/4a-concepts-health-illness/section1

Reid, A. (2012). Birth Attendants and Midwifery Practice in Early Twentieth-century Derbyshire. Social History of Medicine, 25(2), 380-399.

Stuart, G. (2015). What are social models of health?. Retrieved from: https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/social-model-of-health/

Thompson, C. (2008). What is functionalism?. Retrieved from: https://sociologytwynham.com/2008/06/08/what-is-functionalism/

Wagner, H. (1963). Types of Sociological Theory: Toward a System of Classification. American Sociological Review, 28(5), 735-742.

White, K. (2016). An Introduction to the Sociology of Health and Illness. London: SAGE Publications.