SYG2010 - Chapter 10

What term refers to the process through which a condition or behavior becomes defined as a medical problem?

medicalization

Which of the following describes the set of behaviors regarding actions and treatments of ill persons?

sick role

Which OECD country has the lowest rate of infant mortality?

Finland

What term best describes how long a baby born today can expect to live, on average?

life expectancy

Which of the following comprises one of the highest risk groups in the U.S. for contracting, and dying from, the disease caused by the coronavirus?

Latinx

Explain the barriers that many Latinx workers face in getting the COVID vaccine.

Latinx across the country face daunting barriers like fear, language and a lack of education and access as the COVID-19 vaccines roll out, creating risks for public health as the virus mutates and spreads. Fear of deportation can be an issue for Latinx without authorization to live in the U.S., even though the Department of Homeland Security recently said vaccination sites will be considered off-limits for routine enforcement.

What has been called the most effective tool to reduce health disparities and can increase access to health care to the poor, racial and ethnic minorities, and other underserved populations?

Community health centers (CHCs)

Which perspective demonstrates how social, political, and cultural meanings affect our definition and response to health and illness?

interactionism

What are the three measures of epidemiology and how are they measured?

Incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates are three frequency measures that are used to characterize the occurrence of health events in a population.

Under which program will you be assigned to a primary care provider, who will provide most of your medical care, but if necessary, that doctor will refer you to specialists within the plan or to providers contracted by the plan?

Health maintenance organization (HMO)

Explain what has been described as the most effective tool for reducing health disparities.

Raising awareness through education can help address health equity. Improving resource coordination can also help populations most harmed by health disparities.

Which industrialized nation has the highest infant mortality rate?

United States

What are the study of the patterns in the distribution and frequency of sickness, injury, and death and the social factors that shape them?

epidemiology

What term best describes the maximum number of children that could be born?

fecundity

What term best describes the total number of cases involving a specific health problem during a specific period?

prevalence rate

According to conflict theorists, patterns of health and illness are based on individual actions.

False

Epidemiologists focus on individuals and how they experience illnesses.

False

Which countries on the list may also report higher rates of well-being? Explain your answer.

Infant mortality is a basic indicator of the well-being of a population. Therefore, those countries with the lowest infant mortality rates like Finland, Austria, Spain, Sweden, and Belgium are most likely to report higher levels of well-being.

What program enables states to implement their own children's health insurance programs for uninsured low-income children 18 years old or younger and targets the children of working parents or grandparents?

Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Explain the relationship between education and health.

Education can also lead to more accurate health beliefs and knowledge, and thus to better lifestyle choices, but also to better skills and greater self-advocacy. Education improves skills such as literacy, develops effective habits, and may improve cognitive ability.

How has life expectancy changed during the COVID-19 pandemic?

It declined by a year.

Which of the following is the main reason why people lack health care insurance coverage?

It is too expensive.

Which of the following is true of gender and illness?

Men experience higher rates of fatal illness.

Which of the following countries is safest for new mothers and their children in relation to the infant mortality rate?

Spain

Which country has the highest life expectancy?

Switzerland

Which statement about vaccine distribution is true?

The higher the social class the more likely they are to be vaccinated or have access to vaccines.

Which of the following best describes the variability in life expectancy?

The last time life expectancy declined like this was WWII.

What is the sick role? How does it explain how people are supposed to act when they are sick?

The sick role describes the expectations of a person who is regarded as suffering from some illness. For example, it is expected that a person with health problems will seek medical advice and treatment. Once defined as sick, a person may take time off from work.

Life expectancy has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why are people of color at even greater risk than whites?

They are at increased risk of exposure because they are oftentimes in front-line, front-facing work, oftentimes low-wage work without the additional resources to protect themselves. They're often living in environments where they are more likely to transmit the virus to others who live with them. They're oftentimes living in congregate living settings that put people at risk for higher transmission.

Which of the following is a reason why vaccinating Latinx workers is so important?

They make up a large proportion of front-line workers.

Eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities was identified as a major goal of the U.S. national health agenda set by the U.S. Congress in 2019.

True

Half of U.S. adults with lower income reported that they did not get necessary health care or did not fill prescriptions in the past year because of the cost.

True

Medicine has shifted from a general practitioner model (a family doctor who took care of all your needs) to a specialist model (where one doctor treats you for a specific ailment).

True

The United States already has socialized medicine, government-run medicine, in the form of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Medicare system.

True

The leading cause of death of college-age Americans is unintentional injuries, followed by homicide and suicide.

True

Unlike other countries, in the United States, drug prices are set according to market demands.

True