Medicalization
Medicalization can either be a positive or a negative thing in society often some suffering from an illness turn to the label of medicalization to be able to be accepted from society. Medicalization can be positive for a society if it’s done for all the right reasons rather than just personal interest for those behind it.
Define medicalization in sociological terms.
In sociological terms Medicalization can be defines in various ways. Medicalization is known to be a condition or behavior becomes defined as a medical problem requiring a medical solution (Weitz, 2012, P. 106). Another definition of how Medicalization can be defined is by a non-medical problematic concern and putting it into medical terms, from an illness or a
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Doctors play a major role in society today because doctors will use medicalization to gain power to their name or to their practices and more importantly their income. Another reason why medicalization is apparent in society has also to do with MCOs. MCOs are health insurance providers that restrain costs by monitoring closely the health services given to patients. MCOs either support or oppose medicalization, depending on which tactic best protects their interests (Weitz, 2012, …show more content…
As for the gender that is most likely to suffer from morbid obesity is the female gender. As a treatment for now the first step is surgery to try and reduce the obesity also some medical surgeries also involve is minimizing the size of ones stomach. Also according to the panel, FDA guidelines for approval of obesity drugs might well be altered to give less importance to metabolic biomarkers (blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol) and more to the loss of adipose tissue itself or particular deposits of adipose tissue that have deleterious effects on many physiological functions (Allison, 2008).
Those who are observing the concerns of medicalization have brought up the fact that the pharmaceutical industry can and will increase the preventive measures for health care and affect many. Obesity is one of the most deadly public health crises of the 21st century. Globally, at least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese [24]. In the United States, it’s the second leading cause of preventable death (WHO,
The concepts discussed within the article regarding medicalization and changes within the field of medicine served to be new knowledge for me as the article addressed multiple different aspects regarding the growth of medicalization from a sociological standpoint. Furthermore, the article “The Shifting Engines of Medicalization” discussed the significant changes regarding medicalization that have evolved and are evidently practiced within the contemporary society today. For instance, changes have occurred within health policies, corporatized medicine, clinical freedom, authority and sovereignty exercised by physicians has reduced as other factors began to grow that gained importance within medical care (Conrad 4). Moreover, the article emphasized
Obesity is a huge problem that needs to be resolved because it affects all people, unlike most issues. People of every gender, every age, and every race are at risk of being obese. Obesity rates in America have nearly doubled within the last twenty years. Something must be done not only to prevent obesity rates continuous rising, but also to dramatically increase the percentage of obese people in America altogether.
The patient should have confident and trust in their doctor, but the doctor must also recognize that the patient is entitled to have an attitude to illness and his preferred way of tackling this (Turner-Warwick, 1994). Buchanan infers that paternalism eliminates an individual’s power of making their own choices and thus pressed into making decisions. To achieve public health goals, greater considerations must be directed toward promoting a mutual understanding of a just society (Buchanan, 2008). So, if people are given the choice to make certain decision over another, then they are still granted freedom of choice. Buchanan identifies 3 arguments in justifying paternalistic actions: informed consent, weak paternalism, and utilitarianism. To support his argument of informed consent, Buchanan admits there is no significant ethical concern because an individual may reach out to the professional for help, but it is problematic when an intervention is targeting the entire population (Buchanan, 2008). This point of view from Buchanan is flawed and completely limits what public health is all about. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines public health as “what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions for people to be healthy.” With its use of the phrase “we, as a society,” the IOM emphasizes cooperative and mutually shared obligation and it also reinforces the notion that collective
The number of doctors that present in the United States of America directly affects the communities that these doctors serve and plays a large role in how the country and its citizens approach health care. The United States experienced a physician surplus in the 1980s, and was affected in several ways after this. However, many experts today have said that there is currently a shortage of physicians in the United States, or, at the very least, that there will be a shortage in the near future. The nation-wide statuses of a physician surplus or shortage have many implications, some of which are quite detrimental to society. However, there are certain remedies that can be implemented in order to attempt to rectify the problems, or alleviate some of their symptoms.
The Medical Model is a model that simply explains health behaviours biologically, without considering any social or psychological factors. It will only look for the physical cause of disease or illness, instead of a potential range of contributory factors. The body and mind are looked at dualistically, rather than as a whole. This model uses reductionism to explain health behaviours in the simplest way, usually only giving a single cause for the behaviour, or classifying the illness or problem as a syndrome. (Banyard, 2002, p. 7) For example, antidepressant medication would be prescribed for depression, without any consideration for a holistic treatment. This can enable people to behave irresponsibly as they have the expectation of receiving a quick and easy treatment from doctors regardless of the
"Treating Obesity Vital For Public Health, Physicians Say." Science Daily. 2006. Web. 10 May 2014. .
Conrad, Peter. The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
In terms of what is looked for in the Biomedical model, it is believed that there is one aetiology of the disease or illness exhibited in the patient who is then treated as a passive host of the illness where only the medical technology provided by the medical practitioner can hope to cure or at least care for the patient. While at one point in time this method of treatment seemed apt due to the knowledge of the world of that period, it is not a holistic approach of intervention because the main thought behind this model, as discussed by G. L. Engel (1977:129), is that because a disease or illness is characterized by “somatic parameters, physicians need not be concerned with psychosocial issues which lie outside medicine’s responsibility and authority.” This implies that following the Biomedical model, medical practitioners do not take into account the living situations, economic standpoints, racial, gender and ethical viewpoints or the community involvement factor of the patient seeking help.
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate the importance of social science and ethics in medical education and medical practice. This will be achieved by addressing four main headings: social construction of medical and ...
"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane." This quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a social justice hero, exemplifies the significance in addressing medical injustice. Healthcare injustice can come in several different forms, most notably intentional misdiagnoses. This injustice, although normally neglected, is extremely cruel and indubitably effective. The race is on as the government and the World Health Organization fight to combat this issue. When individuals choose the medical career out of monetary greed, their patients are seen as secondary priorities. This greed paired with significant scientific data restricting the actions of health professionals, can lead unjust treatment
...e gap in attitudes between pre-medicalized and modern time periods. The trends of technological advancement and human understanding project a completely medicalized future in which medical authorities cement their place above an intently obedient society.
To conclude, health care is a primary responsibility of governments. They have to make sure that everybody has a total insurance which ensures equality between all members of the society with no segregation between rich and poor. Marxist theory mentioned that medicine became a profitable project more than a human task to serve people and save their lives as it was linked to capitalism. John, the poor factory man was guilty for doing such a sever action to keep hostages but at the same time he wasn’t guilty to be poor and didn’t have an insurance to save his son’s life. Physician role is to be fair when dealing with patients and to think of morals and ethics of the profession before thinking of money.
Medicine can be interpreted in two ways. First, it is the practice of treating or curing an ailment, and second, it is the substance or medication that is used to cure the ailment. As far as the first interpretation, medicine is focused on not just removing a disease, but also on promoting a better health and lifestyle. Sickness is when there is a malfunctioning of a part in the body. These maladies can be cured by different methods and people from different parts of the world have come up with special cures. Medicine goes way back in history, starting from the prehistoric age. The prehi...
The statistics showed that around 31% of women are obese compared to around 18% men.7 Women are more affected by obesity due to lifestyles. The inaccessibility of safe side walks, cultural and social factors, taking care of kids are some of the reasons that play a vital part...
According to Foucault and Illich (in Van Krieken et al. 2006: 351-352), doctors and the medical profession have traditionally been empowered by their knowledge as the authority that society defers to with regards to the definition of disease and health. With improvements in medical technology as well as the advent of the hospital, an evolution...