Sociology - Real World - Ch 14: Health / Illness Issues

The combination of conventional medicine with complementary practices and treatments that have proven to be safe and effective (page 433)

integrative medicine

Being a locavore

involves small steps that can improve health at both the individual and social levels.

Being a locavore:

involves small steps that can improve health at both the individual and social levels.

Being a locavore

is something we all could do.

When Michael Pollan talks about "re-regionalizing" the food system in America, what does he mean?

localizing national food policy and supporting a locavore agenda

As the process of the _____________ develops, we will be less likely to treat someone who has a mental health issue as something they should just "deal with" or "get over" individually. Instead, we will be more likely to think of the issue as having to do with a disease.

medicalization

The process by which some behaviors or conditions that were once seen as personal problems are redefined as medical issues (page 416)

medicalization

The practice by insurance companies of canceling coverage only after a person gets sick (page 431)

rescission

Research on HIV by Rowniak (2009) found that a social transformation has taken place since the inception of improved treatments for AIDS that make it more of a manageable disease than an imminent killer. Specifically, the research found that the response to this "less than a death sentence" diagnosis has caused what some researchers refer to as _______________ that can lead to a rise in infection rates.

safe sex fatigue

There is evidence that _____________ make(s) men more sick.

traditional male gender role expectations

Animals like mosquitoes, ticks, and birds that carry and spread pathogens (germs or other infectious agents) in a given area (page 419)

vector organisms

More recently, epidemiologists are studying the role of temperature increases in the spread of diseases globally. Specifically they have found that increases in temperature can also increase pathogen-carrying agents called:

vector organisms

These carry and spread germs in geographic locations around the world.

vector organisms

Keandre is a lower class American. She lives in public housing, did not finish high school, experiences lapses in employment and has a hard time making financial ends meet. It is likely that she:

will have a higher incidence of depression

What is Michael Pollan's idea for better addressing the corporately-dominated food system in America?

"re-regionalize" the food system

According to your text, Lenae Weichel became a locavore and fed her family from places no more than ________ miles from her home.

100

_______________ come on suddenly and are often contagious.

Acute diseases

involves small steps that can improve health at both the individual and social levels.

Being a locavore:

Rosenbaum (2008) found that it was more common for _________________ in New York City to live in substandard housing in marginalized neighborhoods.

Blacks and Hispanics

C. Wright Mills used the term "the sociological imagination" to refer to important interconnections between personal troubles and public issues. What would he have said about deprivation amplification?

Both public issues and personal troubles contribute to poor health and so work needs to be done at both levels to more properly address disease rates.

_____________ gather and analyze data on particular illnesses, how, where and to whom they are spread, as well as how to stop their spread.

Epidemiologists

Become a locavore

Large-scale agribusiness dominates the American food landscape. According to your text, which of the following is a response to the situation as it stands now?

Marcia, a female, and Mario, a male, are both 50-year-old Hispanics. Marcia has a lower socio-economic status than Mario but both of them adhere closely to traditional gender role expectations. According to information from Chapter 14, what prediction could we make about them?

Marcia will live a longer, happier life than Mario.

What have both classic and more recent studies of hospital experiences found?

The hospital experience is often dehumanizing and the power of the institutions to define diagnoses is heavily skewed.

Which of the following is an effect of food deserts for minorities?

There is higher risk of diabetes, obesity, or heart disease.

Is medicine in the U.S. a social institution?

Yes, because organizations like the American Medical Association set policy and shape definitions of health and illness throughout the nation.

You live in a small condominium and you are pretty stretched for time and money. Could you feasibly be a locavore?

Yes, it is easy and many people do so.

You live in a densely populated American city, are non-white, and survive on a low income. According to Chapter 14 of your text, it is likely you live in:

a food desert

The 2010 Health Care Reform Act (formally called the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act") represents:

a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system.

Diseases that have a sudden onset, may be briefly incapacitating, and are either curable or fatal (page 412)

acute diseases

_______________ come on suddenly and are often contagious.

acute diseases

Epidemiologists predict that __________ rates may dramatically increase when vector organisms and animals enter new ecosystems due to global climate change. a. Lyme disease b. West Nile virus c. yellow and dengue fevers d. plague

all of these answers are correct

A group of medical treatments, practices, and products that are used instead of conventional Western medicine (page 433)

alternative medicine

Locavores:

are local eaters

Noted journalist and University of California, Berkeley professor Michael Pollan found that the current food production and distribution system in the United States is designed to:

benefit corporations and produce the cheapest quality food in large amounts.

The study of controversial moral or ethical issues related to scientific and medical advancements (page 434)

bioethics

Diseases that develop over a longer period of time and may not be detected until symptoms occur later in their progression (page 413)

chronic diseases

In the 1990s legal researcher Erin Brockovich helped win a lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Company because they had been poisoning the water in the small town of Hinkley, California for 30 years. Toxic Chromium 6 leached into the water system and sickened many Hinkley residents with ailments like liver damage and cancer. How would the illnesses of the Hinkley residents be classified?

chronic diseases

More recently, epidemiologists are studying the role of ______________ in the spread of diseases globally.

climate change

A group of medical treatments, practices, and products that can be used in conjunction with conventional Western medicine (page 433)

complementary medicine

When a particular disease is concentrated in and transmitted by a specific population within a confined geographic locale, this is referred to as a(n) __________________.

concentrated epidemic

Michael Moore's film Sicko explores the U.S. health care system and compares it to other nations' health care systems through the eyes of everyday people. One segment tells the story of a little girl in the United States who needed an expensive surgery to restore her hearing. The insurance company agreed to perform the surgery on one ear, but not both. They reasoned that the child would already hear out of one ear and didn't really need to have hearing in both. The child's parents sent a letter to the insurance company explaining that they were being interviewed by Moore for the film, adding "Has your CEO ever been in a film before?" Shortly after, the insurance company notified the family that the child's surgery had been approved. Which theory best explains this family's experience?

conflict

Many countries around the world have national policies or guidelines on how to report suicides. These policies range from not using the term "suicide" to describe a death, to being careful to use words that do not in any way romanticize the act or show it in a positive light. Policies may also restrict the amount of news coverage of suicides. Which theoretical stance would best explain these types of policies and guidelines?

contagion

The concept of acknowledging and incorporating a patient's cultural background as part of the treatment process is called:

cultural competence

To describe the concept of acknowledging and incorporating a patient's cultural background as part of the treatment process; the recognition that patients' beliefs shape their approach to health care (page 432)

cultural competence

Type of health care that treats the disease or condition once it has manifested (page 413)

curative or crisis medicine

Ori went to eat at his favorite restaurant and unfortunately got food poisoning. His illness was treated right away. This treatment would be classified as:

curative or crisis medicine.

The documentary "Unnatural Causes" explores the lives of several Louisville, Kentucky residents at different socio-economic status levels and from various racial backgrounds. It found that poorer Louisville residents suffered greater rates of illness and died earlier than wealthier ones. What is this an example of?

deprivation amplification

when our individual disease risks (based on our heredity and physiology) are amplified by social factors (page 424)

deprivation amplification

What does research on medical interaction generally take into account?

dyads, triads and groups in interaction

Single-industry resource towns built around either excavating raw materials like coal or lumber or transporting them by train tend to spring up suddenly. Many people move there to work for the company and the rate of change is fast: One day there is a forest, the next, a growing town built around mobile homes in the bush. There are often few if any other things to besides work. Rates of depression tend to be high. Which theoretical explanation for suicide would explain the higher rates of depression that can lead to suicide in places like this?

ecological

Where do you live and how is that related to suicide rates? This theoretical explanation for suicide focuses on how aspects of a geographical location impact suicide rates.

ecological

Occurs when a significantly higher number of cases of a particular disease occur during a particular time period than might otherwise be expected (page 417)

epidemic

When the incidence of a particular infectious disease is drastically larger than first estimated, this is referred to as a(n) ________________.

epidemic

The study of disease patterns to understand the cause of illnesses, how they are spread, and what interventions to take (page 417)

epidemiology

An attempt to selectively manipulate the gene pool in order to produce and "improve" human beings through medical science (page 434)

eugenics

According to your textbook, if you live in a(n) ______________ , you are at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, or heart disease.

food desert

a community in which the residents have little or no access to fresh, affordable, healthy foods, usually located in densely populated, urban areas (page 422)

food desert

You are an American with a lower socio-economic status. You are a racial minority, live in public housing, and did finish high school but work at a physically labor-intensive job. You are supporting a family of four on your wages. It is likely that you:

have a number of ailments, like arthritis and asthma.

Good health is...

historically and socially contingent.

Good health is:

historically and socially contingent.

What do sociologists ask you to consider regarding health and illness?

how health and illness are shaped by social factors

Yasmina loves to eat healthy. She believes that eating only organic food is the best way to live because organic food companies are socially conscious just like her. Is Yasmina correct in her beliefs?

no, because organic companies can be part of conglomerates with little interest in social or environmental consciousness

Type of health care that focuses on symptom and pain relief and providing a supportive environment for critically ill or dying patients, rather than fighting the illness or disease (page 413)

palliative care

Occurs when a significantly higher number of cases of a disease also spreads through an especially large geographical region spanning many countries or even continents (page 417)

pandemic

Epidemiologists predict that __________ rates may dramatically increase when vector organisms and animals enter new ecosystems due to global climate change.

plague

Type of health care that aims to avoid or forestall the onset of disease by taking preventive measures, often including lifestyle changes (page 413)

preventive medicine

Which theoretical explanation for suicide emphasizes the lure of a place and factors that draw people with suicidal tendencies to it?

selection

The actions and attitudes that society expects from someone who is ill (page 428)

sick role

The study of locavores is relatively new and:

so the work doesn't have any policy advocates.

Jorge has learned that he has a mental illness. Since then, he has begun to act according to the illness, in ways that he thinks others expect someone with a mental illness to act. Which theory of health and illness best explains his situation?

symbolic interactionism

One organization that conducts large-scale research studies specifically on American college students to determine health behaviors and develop support programs and services for them on a wide variety of health-related issues is __________________.

the American College Health Association

tudies of doctor-patient relations find:

the institutional setting is where doctor-patient relationships occur and the interactions set who has power or status.

Talcott Parsons researched this from a structural functionalist perspective:

the sick role

Keandre is a lower class American. She lives in public housing, did not finish high school, experiences lapses in employment and has a hard time making financial ends meet. It is likely that she:

will have a higher incidence of depression.

In the early 1900s, just under 50 percent of births took place at home. Today, around 99 percent of all births take place in hospitals. This is an example of

medicalization