Evaluate definitions of Health and Illness

Sociology of health

1500 words

Assessment criteria:

1.1 Evaluate definitions of Health and Illness

1.2 Examine the social construction of Health and Illness

Define the Health and Illness with REFERENCE to the social constructions of health and illness 1-( CONRAD AND BARKER 2011) 2-TALCOTT PARSONS “SICK ROLE” versus the biomedical model (COULD USE EXAMPLE OF MENTAL ILLNESS AS EVALUATION)

2.1 Examine recent data on the distribution of health with REFERENCE to a variety of social factors.

2.2 Examine the social constructions of health and illness.

· Use as up to date data as you can find.

· Look at the unequal distribution of health, illness and access to healthcare for at least two social factors: class, gender or ethnicity

· You can refer to the social pattern of mental illness

Include the explanations for differences in inequalities in health: use the table which references: cultural/behavioural; materialist and psych-social explanations

3.1 Apply at least three sociological perspectives to the unequal distribution of health and healthcare:

· Marxist

· Pluralist

· Structuralist