You will write one 2 ? 3-page solving social problems paper, using the Solutions Story Tracker website?(Links to an external s
You will write one 2 – 3-page solving social problems paper, using the Solutions Story Tracker website (Links to an external site.). The paper topic must correspond with one of the weekly topics discussed during the last 5 weeks of the quarter. It is up to you which weekly topic to choose. Please submit the paper via Canvas by the end of Week 9. In this paper you will: 1. Describe the topic/social problem you chose and why you chose it (about a 1/2 – 1 page) 2. Find at least two articles, using the Story Tracker website, that suggest solutions to the social problem you chose. Summarize and critique the articles and the solutions they offer (1 – 2 pages) 3. CITE ALL SOURCES 4. Submit the paper here
https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/storytracker
Week 9 topic: alcohol and other drugs, health illness and healthcare
Health, Illness, and Healthcare
Week 9
The Sociology of Health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health “is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO 2014).
Types of questions examined in the sociology of health:
What does “health” mean to you?
How does the WHO definition relate to contemporary issues of health?
Do you believe that there are too many people taking medications in American society?
Can you think of anything that was historically considered a disease, but is now considered within a range of normality?
Do you believe all children should receive vaccinations?
Medical Sociology
Systematic study of how humans manage issues of health and illness, disease and disorders, and health care for both the sick and the healthy
Social construction of health: sociocultural lens, cultural meaning of illness, social construction of the experience of being ill, social construction of medical knowledge
Cultural Meaning of Illness
The stigmatization of illness: Erving Goffman
Stigma is the relationship between an “attribute and a stereotype”
Social stigmas keep individuals from fully integrating into society
Stigmatizing an illness affects the kind of care a patient receives and how the patient thinks of themself
The sick role: Talcott Parsons
Sick people should not be perceived as having caused their own sickness
Sick people must want to get well
Sick people are expected to confirm their illness with a physician
Contested Illnesses: illnesses that are questioned by or questionable to some medical professionals (e.g., fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, etc.)
The Social Construction of Medical Knowledge
Example: pregnant women in the early 20th century were discouraged from driving and dancing for fear of hurting the fetus, as much as they are now discouraged from drinking or smoking today
Some illnesses have been commodified – example: breast cancer
COVID-19
What changes (cultural, social, and scientific) have we witnessed, within healthcare, that have been a direct result of the pandemic?
How are people with disabilities differently affected by the pandemic (especially in terms of receiving care, and avoiding COVID-19)?
Theoretical Perspectives and Assumptions about Health
Intersectionality: For health systems, intersectionality analysis can be woven into examining distributive justice (fairness in inputs and outcomes), procedural justice (who is involved in decision-making processes and in what way), and interactional justice (the quality of relationships among people, including aspects of status and dignity).
Draws attention to drivers of inequality
Global differences in health and illness
Social Epidemiology: the study of the causes and distributions of diseases
Poorer nations suffer the most; high rates of infant and maternal mortality; high death rates; shorter life spans
Poorer nations also have relatively little access to adequate sanitation facilities
Health Care in Industrial Nations
All industrial nations, except for the US, provide some variation of national health care and national health insurance.
Pros: Reduction in infant mortality, extends life expectancy, enables residents to have good health, less expensive overall
Cons: There can be long wait times for elective surgeries, specialists do not make as much income as in the US
Discussion
What do you think should be done to help improve the health of poor nations? What role should the United States play in any efforts in this regard?
Health Problems in the US
Overall health has improved steadily over the past 100 years – innovations in sanitation and the discovery of antibiotics
Life expectancy has nearly doubled since the 1900s
Infant mortality, cigarette smoking, and lead levels in children’s blood have all declined since the 1950s, 60s, and 70s
But…
The US lags far behind many other wealthy democracies even though it is one of the wealthiest nations in the world
Big problems: Food insecurity, infant birth weight, asthma, chronic conditions
Health Disparities: Physical Health
Social Class: Poor people have much worse health; greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, types of cancer, high blood pressure
Causes: stress – higher for people with low incomes
Race & Ethnicity: Black and African American residents have a life expectancy about 5 years fewer than white Americans; Infants from BIPOC families have higher mortality rates than white infants
Health Disparities: Physical Health
Gender: Women live longer than men (by more than six years), across racial categories – however – women tend to have more health problems throughout their lives
Men are more likely to have a life-threatening disease, some of that is due to their likelihood to work in places that are filled with environmental and safety hazards
Men are less likely than women to tell anyone that they have a health problem or to seek help
Health Disparities: Mental Health
Social Class: Low-income populations exhibit more mental health problems than wealthier people – poverty contributes to mental illness
Race & Ethnicity: African Americans and Latinos are more likely than whites to exhibit mental distress
Gender: Women are more likely than men to be seriously depressed; men have higher rates of diagnosed antisocial personality disorders
Health Care Problems in the US
Private health insurance: patients under 65 are expected to pay for their own medical costs aided by insurance.
Although more than half of Americans have private insurance and 29% have a form of public insurance, 16% (50 million) are still uninsured because they don’t qualify for cost-free public care, and they cannot afford private insurance. (as of 2015)
According to research, Black patients do not receive the same care, as white patients, for the same health problems
Less research on other minoritized/underserved groups
Women are less likely than men to be given care/procedure choices for their health issues
Other issues:
Sleep deprivation among health-care professionals
Shortage of physicians and nurses
Mistakes by hospitals
Racial and Gender Bias in Health Care
Discussion
What types of policies and reforms could we put in place to create a better and more equitable healthcare system?
Transgender Health Disparities to Understand Stigma
Group Activity
Conceptualizing Stigma (Link & Phelan 2001)
5 Interrelated Components of Stigma
Distinguishing and labeling differences
Associating human differences with negative attributes (stereotyping)
Separating “us” from “them”
Status loss
Discrimination
“For stigmatization to occur, power must be exercised.”
Social-ecological model of stigma
Societal norms/expectations and institutional policies that constrain access to resources
Direct or enacted forms of stigma – verbal harassment, physical violence, sexual assault – because of a person’s “differentness”
Feelings people hold about themselves or the beliefs they perceive others hold about them – can shape future behavior like avoidance or anticipation of discrimination
Transgender Stigma and Health ( Hughto et al. 2015)
Examples of stigma experienced by trans individuals
Individual
Concealment, avoidance, and internalization of stigma
Interpersonal
Healthcare and workplace discrimination, family rejection, hate crimes, sexual and/or physical assault
Structural
Gender conformity to natal sex norms, stigmatizing policies and enforcement practices, lack of provider training & education, healthcare access barriers, economic inequality, gender inequality
Transgender Stigma and Health ( Hughto et al. 2015)
Importance of interventions
Recent US non-discrimination policies might reflect greater acceptance of trans people, but widespread interpersonal stigma still exists and severely impacts the health of trans individuals
Interventions are needed at all levels – structural, interpersonal, and individual – i.e., multi-level interventions
Interventions can reduce shame around one’s own identity, cope with effects of stigma, reduce negative impacts on physical and mental health, and create more general acceptance
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Alcohol and Other Drugs
Week 9
Drug Use in History
Ancient times
Mead, wine, opium/poppy seeds, cannabis, plants & herbs, coca leaves, cohoba/mimosa beans, tobacco
Humans have been using “drugs” for thousands of years
US History (during and post-colonization)
Tobacco in colonial era
Alcohol – rum and beer in mass quantities, later even more types and larger quantities
Coffee starting in the 19th century
Opium, cocaine, and marijuana
Illegality of Drugs
So, why did a lot of these drugs become illegal?
Racialization of drugs
Opium and Chinese immigrants
Cocaine and African Americans
Marijuana and Mexican immigrants
Drug Use Today
Drug: any substance other than food that affects the structure and/or functioning of the body when ingested/used/taken
Prescription drugs – 10s of billions of dollars annually
Alcohol, tobacco, and coffee are also drugs, even though we might not think of them as such
The distinction between legal and illegal drugs has no logical basis
Alcohol and tobacco cause the most harm even though they are legal
Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug (yes, it is still federally illegal and illegal in most states)
Although other illegal drugs have a low prevalence of use, millions still use annually
Annual Deaths from Legal and Illegal Drugs
Types of Drugs
Depressants: slow down the activity of the central nervous system
Aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, alcohol, barbiturates, sleep medicines
Hallucinogens: mind-altering drugs that cause delusions and hallucinations
Ecstasy, LSD, mescaline, PCP, psilocybin
Narcotics: Sometimes classified as depressants because they slow down the central nervous system, but still considered they’re own category; pain relief, euphoria, relaxation, drowsiness, addictive
All derived from opium; codeine, heroin, methadone, morphine
Stimulants: Opposite effect of depressants by speeding up the central nervous system; increase alertness and energy; produce euphoria or anxiety; addictive
Caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine (tobacco), Ritalin
Marijuana is its own category
Alcohol
Moderate use is relatively safe for most people and may have some health benefits, but people don’t always drink in moderation
Consequences of alcohol abuse: 18 million Americans abuse it
Personal health effects, traffic fatalities, violent crime
College Students
Full time college students, ages 18 – 22, drink more often and more heavily than their peers who are not in college
Binge drinking; poor academic performance, alcohol related injuries and deaths, assaults
Tobacco and Nicotine
Kills four times as many people every year as those killed by alcohol use
Because nicotine does not distort perception like alcohol or other psychoactive drugs, someone using tobacco can safely drive, operate machinery, etc.
About half of all cigarette smokers will one day die a premature death caused by a smoking-related illness
Lung cancer and lung disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, throat cancer; lower bone density and high risk for hip fracture for women as they age
Americans spend $90 billion on tobacco products, annually
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (April 3, 2014). The TEDS Report: Gender Differences in Primary Substance of Abuse across Age Groups. Rockville, MD.
Discussion
Why might these differences exist?
Does your own level of use or nonuse match the average for your own demographic?
Explaining Drug Use
Biological Explanations
Some people are more vulnerable to the effects and addictive properties of drugs; this is thought to be due to a biological or genetic predisposition
Research on twins has found that identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to both have or not have alcohol problems
Still not well understood
Psychological Explanations
Predispositions based on personality differences including low self-esteem and self-confidence, low trust in others, need for thrills and stimulation
Sociological Explanations
Importance of social structure, social bonds to family & school, social interaction, and culture
What do sociological theories say?
Intersectional theorists: Focus on inequalities across race, class, gender, nationality, etc.
What would they say?
Drug Policy and “the War” on Illegal Drugs
Treatment: Intended for people who already use drugs and want to reduce or eliminate their drug use
Prevention: Strategy that tries to prevent drug use before it starts through education and drug testing
DARE: Police officers speak to middle-schoolers about drugs
Research shows that the DARE programs do not reduce subsequent drug use among their audiences compared to children who were not exposed
Harm Reduction: Strategy that attempts to minimize the harm caused by drugs
The war on drugs
Philosophical considerations: To what extent should the government in a free society outlaw behaviors that me be harmful, even if people want to engage in them?
Social science considerations: How might laws against drugs do mor harm than good?
Addressing the Drug Problem and Reducing Drug Use
Critics of current drug policies argue that because drugs will always be around, then our society should do what it can to minimize the harms that drugs cause instead of arresting and imprisoning people for using drugs.
Possible next steps:
Provide legally prescribed drugs for addicts
Encourage health-care providers to screen more carefully for drug use
Base drug sentencing on the level of violence in which some drug sellers engage rather than the quantity sold
Abandon DARE
Provide addicts with small cash payments for clean drug tests
Integrate former drug dealers and recovering addicts back into society
Raise alcohol taxes
Prohibit alcohol sales to anyone who has engaged in drunk driving or committed violence while under the influence of alcohol
Allow marijuana users to grow their own cannabis or buy from small growers
Raise the cigarette tax
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Solving Social Problems/Solutions Story
Tracker Paper Expectations (about 2-3 pages)
Underdeveloped Developing Developed TOTAL
Briefly describes the nature and extent of the social problem you chose and why you chose it. (about a ½ – 1 page).
Possible: 25 Actual:
Summarizes the 2 solutions tracker articles. Gives enough information to the reader so that they understand the premise of the article but does not rehash the entire article. Skillfully critiques the articles. What solutions did the articles discuss? Are there flaws in the solutions/things that might go wrong? Are there better solutions? Etc. (about 1 – 2 pages).
Possible: 40 Actual:
CORRECTLY CITE ALL SOURCES
Possible: 10 Actual:
Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes (please proofread!).
yes/no (points will be deducted if several mistakes are present)
TOTAL: 37.5 60 75
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