Why is health socially constructed

Medical sociologists study the physical, mental, and social components of health and illness. The social construction of health is a major research topic within medical sociology. At first glance, the concept of a social construction of health does not seem to make sense. After all, if disease is a measurable, physiological problem, then there can be no question of socially constructing disease, right? Sociologists Peter Conrad and Kristin Barker offer a comprehensive framework for understanding the major findings of the last fifty years of development in this concept.

Their summary categorizes the findings in the field under three subheadings: the cultural meaning of illness, the social construction of the illness experience, and the social construction of medical knowledge.

Many medical sociologists contend that illnesses have both a biological and an experiential component, and that these components exist independently of and external to each other. Our culture, not our biology, dictates which illnesses are stigmatized and which are not, which are considered disabilities and which are not, and which are deemed contestable meaning some medical professionals may find the existence of this ailment questionable as opposed to definitive illnesses that are unquestionably recognized in the medical profession in the medical field Conrad and Barker For instance, sociologist Erving Goffman described how social stigmas hinder individuals from fully integrating into society.

In essence, Goffman suggests we might view illness as a stigma that can push others to view the ill individual in an undesirable manner. The stigmatization of illness often has the greatest effect on the patient and the kind of care they receive.

Many contend that our society and even our healthcare institutions discriminate against certain diseases—like mental disorders, AIDS, venereal diseases, and skin disorders Sartorius Facilities for these diseases may be sub-par relative to facilities aimed at addressing and alleviating other conditions; they may be segregated from other healthcare areas or relegated to a poorer environment.

Contested illnesses are those that are questioned or questionable by a fraction of medical professionals. This dynamic can affect how a patient seeks treatment and what kind of treatment they receive. Sick role is a term used in medical sociology regarding sickness and the rights and obligations of the affected. It is a concept created by the American sociologist Talcott Parsons in Parsons argued that the best way to understand illness sociologically is to view it as a form of deviance that disturbs the social functioning of society.

The general idea is that the individual who has fallen ill is not only physically sick, but now adheres to the specifically patterned social role of being sick. The idea of the social construction of the illness experience is based on the concept of reality as a social construction.

In other words, there is no objective reality; there are only individual perceptions of it, which are always relative and involve a process of construction. The social construction of the illness experience addresses the way some patients control the manner in which they reveal their diseases, and the lifestyle adaptations patients develop to cope with their illnesses. Figure 1. What might a symbolic interactionist observe about this method?

In terms of constructing the illness experience, culture and individual personality both play a significant role. For some people, a long-term illness can have the effect of making their world smaller, leading to a life that is more defined by the illness than by anything else. Their illness becomes their marker, or their focal status. For others, illness can be a chance for discovery, for re-imagining a new self Conrad and Barker Culture plays a substantial role in how an individual experiences illness.

Widespread diseases like AIDS or breast cancer have specific cultural markers that have changed over the years and that govern how individuals—and society—view both the condition and the individual directly affected by the condition. Today, many institutions of wellness acknowledge the degree to which individual perceptions shape the nature of health and illness. Regarding physical activity, for instance, the Centers for Disease Control CDC recommends that individuals use a standard level of exertion to assess their physical activity.

Similarly, many medical professionals use a comparable, somewhat universal scale for perceived pain to help determine pain management strategies. Watch this video to learn more about the sick role and ways that society influences health. Look for examples of how health, disease, and illness are socially constructed. Conrad and Barker show how medical knowledge is socially constructed; that is, it can both reflect and reproduce inequalities in gender, class, race, and ethnicity. For instance, in the early nineteenth century, pregnant women were discouraged from driving or dancing for fear of harming the unborn child, much as they are discouraged, with more valid and evidence-based reason, from smoking or drinking alcohol today.

Figure 2. Pink ribbons are a ubiquitous reminder of breast cancer. But do pink ribbon chocolates do anything to eradicate the disease? Every October, the world turns pink. Football and baseball players wear pink accessories. Skyscrapers and large public buildings are lit with pink lights at night. Shoppers can choose from a huge array of pink products. Read our updated Privacy Policy to learn more.

Illness is an increasingly public experience shared on the Internet. Medical sociologists use social constructionist theory to interpret the social experience of illness. Social constructionism holds that individuals and groups produce their own conceptions of reality, and that knowledge itself is the product of social dynamics. There is a distinction between the medical notion of disease and the social constructionist concept of illness.

For the medical profession, disease is a biological condition, universal and unchanging; social constructionists define illness as the social meaning of that condition. The authors consider socially stigmatized and contested illnesses, drawing a distinction between impairment and disability. Key Findings:. This essay analyzes topics in medical sociology using social constructionist theory.

The authors explore the cultural meaning of illness, discuss how individuals experience illness, and critique the foundations of medical knowledge. Here are five social theories that support that:.

Healthism Crawford, describes a political ideology wherein a biomedical understanding of health is given social power and individuals are held responsible for their ability to uphold their own health. I get it. It makes sense that we would be evolutionarily drawn to the idea of good health and longevity. Health, sure enough, is arguably a physical experience of biological beings.

But our moral obligation to health is something that we, ourselves, created. Want to learn more? Metzl and Anna Kirkland. And the social model of disability Oliver, is a great example of what it looks like to push against healthism. The medical model of disability — which is the status quo understanding of disability — is rooted in healthism. Screw that.

Society is organized in such a way that barriers and restrictions exist for disabled people. It names that society created body-based oppression and that only society — not individual oppressed people — is responsible for changing that. The biopsychosocial model Engel, was created in response to the biomedical lens — the latter of which assumes that all disease and disorder has an organic cause, and therefore, an organic solution, within the body. Using a biopsychosocial lens means recognizing that biology, psychology, and sociocultural factors all play a role in how we develop and are treated for illness.

Western Medicine hyper-medicalizes health — which seems sensible at first. But no. All three of these schools of thought are really helpful in looking at our experiences within our bodies.