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Chapter 15: Health and Health Care |
Chapter fifteen examines health and the health-care system in
the United States. In studying these topics, sociologists distinguish
among three concepts: disease, which is a medically diagnosed
pathology; illness, which is a person's own subjective sense
of not feeling well; and sickness, which is the social acceptance
of a person as ill. Social structures in the Unites States greatly
affect the patterns of disease within the population. Factors
such as sex, race, ethnic background, poverty, and unemployment
have a distinct impact on the health of an individual. An analysis
of three major health problems in the United States—hunger,
smoking, and AIDS—illustrates the sociological dimension
of illness and disease.
The health-care industry in the United States has evolved
into an enormous enterprise. Several factors have fostered
its growth-medicalization, the status elevation of doctors,
and corporatization. This new and ever—growing structure,
however, has created many problems for people, including unequal
access to medical attention, the spiraling costs of medical
care, and a health insurance crisis. Concerns over these issues
have given rise to demands for health care reform, forcing
policymakers to search for solutions to this complex and far-reaching
problem.
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