Health & sociological perspectives

Health & sociological perspectives

My essay on the sociological perspectives in the healthcare will demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of each topic functionalism, Marxism and will judge the value of the Feminist theory. I will also indulge my knowledge of the power and status of the medical and health profession. In my quest to inquire information of the sociological perspectives I will conclude my own understanding of us as humans, as unique individuals who strive for perfection, I shall share my findings and enclose personal information of life’s traits and give examples of research through books the internet and opinions.
Functionalism as a theorist perspective in which us as a human race introduced by the famous Talott Parsons, are obligated to fit into a society in which we all contribute positively to achieve certain goals, we must also want to follow the structure of society which will enrich us with rewards such as an income of wage, a higher status in society better accommodation and better quality food. With Functionalism in place we as humans are to perfume our role in society which will enable the structure to run smoothly and continue to work, to maintain this structure we must also want to fit into what they consider to be the normal role, Being healthy by looking after ourselves in all aspects of life like maintaining a healthy balanced diet, this enables us to function properly so we can work and continue to function within the community.
Talott Parsons a well-known sociologist is who brought to light in 1951 “The Sick Role” the sick role has 4 expectations for us as individuals to comply with, if a person is sick then they do not have to participate in their normal roles, the person would have to be seen by a medical expert, be willing to be treated and follow their advice striving to get better, and the individual must not be accountable for their illness. In my inquiries my understanding of the structure in the theory of functionalism in the sick role is, I see what was trying to be accomplished but in society there are different aspects that were not taken into account which left curtain people suffering by being out casted from the norm and vulnerable. There was no place for people with any disabilities which prevented them from working, people with mental health problems ranging from Alzheimer's disease in which people lose their minds, Major depressive disorder preventing a person to conduct their lives as a normal functional person can, compulsive personality disorder affects the mind and ability to concentrate and get lost in their own world. This failed for people with terminal illness and where did people fit who suffered a vital accident at work and could not work again! As the human raise we are not mechanical we were made with different vulnerability different stress levels and all have a high sense of emotions attached to different situations and illnesses that we encounter throughout our lives. My personal life example is this of my mother who had a terrific car accident and was left unable to work due to a clot in her leg, the pain caused intense agony and the clot finally reached her heart and killed her, she would have struggled to maintain her life in the two years she suffered and wouldn’t have fitted into the so called norm, so she would have no role in society. In the medical role they are to help people recover from their sickness so they can swiftly return to their normal role. We intrust ourselves to the medical profession believing they have our best intentions at heart, we trust that they will apply their skills and expertise in us following their code of conduct thoroughly.
Scientific socialism know as Marxism are theoretical idea’s that was put into place to evaluate the struggles in society, society was spilt into two classes Bourgeoisie meaning the middle class of society, and Proletariat meaning the lower class. Capitalism is an economic unstable system with exploitations of the working class, it uses the working class by profiting from them lining the pockets of the bourgeoisie and proprietors of businesses. Karl Marx- founder of scientific socialism- explained over 150 years ago “the unpaid labour of the working class”. With reference to socialism Leon Trotsky a socialist-Marxist used his own struggle back in the early 19th century alongside Vladimir Lenin and Kemal Atatürk and created the first independent worker’s social organisation in the world, with this organization in place threatened the ruling class of society, today following the methods of Trotsky we endeavour to create a fair place for the working class to benefit so the poor no longer struggle with poverty. My research on the theory of Marxism it’s the proletariats who are most likely to suffer as their working conditions were so bad it caused them ill health and therefore struggled to function in society, depending on where you work, a person could be exposed to different illnesses, this could range from an accident due to the work place being extremely dangerous, stress which one person can cope with better than another person could, there was no individualism everyone was treated the same way again falling into the sick role to be able to function in society. I think the theorist perspective of Marxism and capitalists and their research was for the good of man-kind and in doing so, moving us forward out of poverty giving us structure and a foundation to work with. Dr’s once were our healthcare and held the power to shut down villages even towns when they had deceased outbreaks like the Black Death, Drs held people life’s in their hands and didn’t have to answer to a higher authority, even though they only had little knowledge of the human body and mainly treated the Bourgeoisie. Capitalist changed the healthcare structure so now in today’s society our health care staff, Drs Nurses surgeons are all managed buy none medical staff, each having to abide by codes of conduct rules and regulations, continuous training and to maintain the health in our society. It still stands today money rules the healthcare system and if you have money you will receive better medical care, not everyone can afford to go private and pay for the best medication that the pharmacist have on the open market. Our society is still spilt into two classes but at least in today’s society we have the rights to education the opportunities to better ourselves and live in better accommodation, we have the knowledge of what foods are important for our diets to function within society at our best.
My understanding of the sociology theory of feminist shows me that most feminists hold Marxist views and are individuals that concentrate on the natural events that happen to women such as child birth and the menstrual cycle, the medical industry has been powered by men from the beginning of time who clearly had no understanding of women’s medical needs, I go back in time to where women would have natural childbirth at home alone or with family and friends who would assist them in their time of need who had personal experience, a women would crouch as gravity help the baby come out, since men made pregnancy a medical situation they now make women lay down which prolongs labour and causes the foetal distress and further complication can arise. In my studies looking at the world bank the report shows that in countries that are poverty stricken and still do not have medical help, Life expectancy at birth is low and hasn’t changed much from 1980-2011, unlike the united kingdom which has risen from 77% in 1980 to 82% in 2011. I know medical intervention is harmful but I also agree that it has its benefits to. My personal experience was giving birth to my first son when I went through 12 hours of labour laying down, he was distressed and without the medical help I received by having a Caesarean section and the help of the medical staff, I could have died alongside my son giving birth. With the technology and study that’s has come on through the years they were able to monitor both myself and my unborn child .I think that the protocol of pregnancy via the hospital is unnecessary in some ways like vaginal examination and shaving our pubic hair for delivery, but in other aspects there observation with blood test and ultra-scans help knowing if there’s anything wrong with the unborn child which can be addressed even before delivery and maintaining the health of both mother and child. As a unique individual I believe in allowing nature to take its course but if nature goes wrong I turn my attention to medical intervention in the hope that with all our resources this can help in times of need. As the foundation in health care was established by men, their guidelines and rules to be followed were somewhat wrong and I’m glad that feminist showed them what was needed to be changed to help women with our medical difference.
The power of the state is an organisation which separates from the rest of society, the people politicians who work in and enforce the state have power to change what they want but work on our behalf. When we concentrate on the struggles of the state, we must bear in mind that the state pulls us in all kinds of directions, its try’s to put on us a form of separation of our struggles from society, it separates the representatives from the represented, and tries to make us see and think differently. This draws us into a process of reconciliation with reality, this reality of capitalism, a social organisation solely based on exploitation, injustice, killing and destruction. My understanding of the power of the state is the organisation of representatives we allow to run and make changes to help the structure and function of the society that we live in, as a member of society I do not think I could turn my back on the state as we need the resources in order to function and survive, be it as a paramedic or student or even as one who is unemployed. I see how functionalism, Marxism and feminism all play such an important part of the structure in our society and how it helps us develop and grow as a functional society.

Bibliography
Bibliography
poverty, w. b. w. f. a. w. f. o., 2012. Life expectancy at birth, s.l.: world bank.