Theme 1

• Sociology refers to "studying the social/society"
• Society refers to 'the collective group to which we all belong to' (within a geographical area such as a country)
• Sociology is the study of human society and its social problems
• Foundational focus of sociology

  • To examine relationships/connections between society and its institutions
  • To study how structures within these social institutions interact to influence patterns of human behaviour, and their consequences thereof
• Social institutions


  • Family
  • Health
  • Economy
  • Educational/academic
  • Political
  • Religious
• Social life is the most central part of the focus of sociology, and it is the essence of human existence
• The process of social interaction itself may put some individuals at risk of suffering from certain diseases (especially communicable disease) such as tuberculosis (TB)
• It is not only "germs, bacteria, viruses, causing diseases. How our social conditions enables vulnerability to diseases
• Risk factors for diseases

  • Commercial sex work puts an individual more at risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection) than many other occupations
  • A child/leukaemia versus several children/leukaemia
• Historical perspectives on sociology and health

  • From ancient civilization to the present-day research documents the evolution and spread of diseases
  • Social factors have been noted to cause or worsen the spread of diseases
• Social factors that contributed to the spread of diseases

  • Migration of individuals to cities and towns
  • Poor sanitation
  • Poor living conditions
  • Poor sewage systems
  • Factories fouled with smoke
  • Commercial trading of goods between continents and cities
  • Religious crusades
• Overtime, pandemics began to diminish, average life expectancy slightly increased (because other diseases continued to threaten the health of individuals)
• Acute diseases


  Infectious diseases
• Chronic diseases


  Degenerative diseases
• Epidemiological transition


  The shift from a society characterised by infectious and parasitic diseases to a society characterised by degenerative and chronic diseases
• The epidemiological transition is attributed more to changes in social conditions than to medical interventions
• Public health measures


  • Provision of clean water
  • Sanitary sewage systems
• Public health measures greatly eliminated waterborne diseases (i.e., Hepatitis E - WHK informal settlement, Covid-19)
• The use of such health measures increase overall health/wellbeing of individuals and minimised the risk of dying (especially in infants and children under 5years) from influenza, pneumonia and TB
• With the rise in scientifically-based health research and modern health technology on treating and/or preventing illness, comes individuals and corporations selling potentially dangerous treatments with claims of curing some diseases
• When poor living conditions change and access to healthy foods improve, individuals' ability to resist infection and to survive if infected also increases
• Poverty


  The major social determinant of health (Poverty breeds diseases which in turn undermines people's ability to work and be productive)
• Historically, society dismissed or judged various ailments only to later recognize the ailments as legitimate
• Ailments previously dismissed or judged by society

  • Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
  • Mental Illness
• Society granted those who acquired HIV/AIDS disease little to no sympathy and denied them the ''sick role'
• As society became more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS, and as the disease affected a broader portion of the population, attitudes toward HIV/AIDS and its sufferers also changed
• Sufferers of CFS were denied the 'sick role' by family, friends and healthcare insurance companies
• Before the 1960s, patients diagnosed with mental illness were locked away in what was referred to as "insane asylums"
• Despite improvements in mental-related treatment interventions and changes in attitudes toward mental disorders, those diagnosed with mental illness, those in mental treatment facilities and those who have recovered, are still labelled, stigmatized, and discriminated against
• Sociology argues that science alone does not determine disease, but that society also does
• Health and illness cannot only be understood as a random consequence of 'luck' or 'carefulness'
• Some people are much more likely to experience ill-health than others because of the way social aspects of society shapes and affect their lives
• Social aspects that affect health and illness

  • A particular social class an individual is born into
  • The culture an individual is born into
  • The socialization one receives
  • The social capital available
• Health


  • A fundamental human right
  • The essence of a productive life
  • Central to a quality of life
  • An integral part of our development
• The concept of health is ambiguous because it is multidimensional, complex, and sometimes elusive
• Different ways people define health

  • Younger men may define health as physical fitness
  • Younger women may define health as finally getting that long-awaited beauty treat
  • Somebody else may define health as having energy to function by coping with life's challenges
  • For the older generation, health may mean contentment, happiness and the ability to do things with minimal reliance on others assistance
  • Being able to work and to carry on with life despite experiencing disease symptoms
  • Mental and physical wellbeing
• Models of health


  • Biomedical model views health as the absence of disease
  • Ecological/Environmental model views health as the adaptation to physical and social surroundings
  • Psychosocial/Wellness model views health as influenced by social, psychological, economic, political, and cultural factors
  • WHO model defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
• WHO definition of health

  • Includes the ability to lead socially and economically productive lives
• Major interrelated components of health (WHO)

  • Physiological: the functionality of the body's biological system
  • Social: the ability to connect and function as a member of society
  • Mental: the human psychological, emotional, and intellectual
• The WHO definition emphasizes the importance of being more than disease free and recognizes that a healthy body depends upon a healthy environment