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Sociology and Health Essay – This is one of the best essays on ‘Sociology and Health’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Sociology and Health
Essay Contents:
- Essay on Introduction to Sociology and Health
- Essay on the Types of Social Sciences
- Essay on Social Organization
- Essay on Family and Its Types
- Essay on Cultural Factors Effecting Health
- Essay on Causation and Prevention of Disease
- Essay on Social Classification—Need for Constant Updating
- Essay on Social Elastification: Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Essay on Social Sciences Dealing with Human Behaviour
- Essay on Social Constraints
- Essay on the Compartments of Social Environment
- Essay on Social Deviance
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1. Essay on Introduction to Sociology and Health:
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Man is a gregarious animal, he likes to live in society and each individual influences the others and also the environment. Sociology—the science of society, or science of social processes, or the behaviour of men in groups—studies the interaction of its type that seems to result from contact between human individuals.
Medicine and Social Sciences are concerned in their own special way with human behavior. It seeks illness behavior of people which has intervention in community health, clinical medicine and epidemiology.
(A) Epidemiology:
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Disease is studied in relationship to such factors like social status, income, occupation, housing, overcrowding, social customs, habits and behavior.
(B) Community Medicine:
Health care services and community health programme are having strong bearing with belief, custom, tradition, attitude, knowledge and practices, e.g., social barriers in acceptance of Universal Immunisation Programme, Family Planning, improvement of sanitation and dietary patterns.
(C) Clinical Medicine:
Illness behaviour is studied under medical sociology, psychophysiological stress reactions are involved in cases of rheumatic arthritis, ulceration, hypertension, constipation, peptic ulcer, angina and diabetes. It also includes doctor-patient relationship, patient care management, hospital organisation and cultural practices.
2. Essay on the Types of Social Sciences:
a. Economics:
It deals with human relationship in production, scarce resources, services and allocation of money for the programme.
b. Political Science:
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It is concerned with the study of the system of laws and institutions.
c. Sociology:
It deals with the study of Human relationships and Human behavior for a better understanding of patterns of human life.
d. Social Psychology:
It deals with psychology of individuals living in human society or groups. It includes opinion, attitudes, general motivation and basis of perception.
e. Anthropology:
It is study of the physical, social and cultural history of man.
It can be:
(a) Physical anthropology.
(b) Social anthropology.
(c) Cultural anthropology.
(d) Medical anthropology.
3. Essay on Social Organization:
The groups of people needed for different purposes known as social organization:
1. Family:
This is the basic unit of the society. It is a group of biologically related individuals living together and eating from a common kitchen.
2. Religion and Caste:
Religion and caste are forms of social organization which govern groups of people by certain rules and sanctions related to endogamy, food taboos, ritual purity etc.
3. Temporary Social Groups:
(i) Crowd:
It is aggregate of human beings with a common focus of attention. It automatically goes out when common focus of attention disappears, e.g. viewers of cricket match.
(ii) Mob:
It is aggregation of people in positive action usually motivated by joy or anger and having a leader and a symbol in the shape of slogan. Mob is more emotional than a crowd.
(iii) Herd:
It is also aggregation of people with a leader but no strong emotional motivation. Here all focus to the directions of the leader and to the goal at hand and certain amount of social interaction plays in it, e.g. tourist with guide.
(iv) Audience:
It is also group of people with the least amount of inter-stimulation between individuals but having the common interest in the performer on the stage.
4. Permanent Social Groups:
(i) Band:
It consist of number of families, group attached to an area from which it draws its substances by gathering, hunting and fishing etc.
(ii) Village:
Collection of people permanently settled in a locality with their homes and cultural equipment’s. There are farming, non-farming, industrial and suburban villages.
(iii) Tribe:
By fission a group of bands is formed into a large unit which the sociologists term a tribe.
(iv) Towns & Cities:
It is relatively large, dense and permanent settlement of socially heterogeneous individuals when population exceeds more than 1 lac known as city.
(v) Metropolitan:
Big, dense and permanent settlement of heterogeneous persons of more that 10 lac population known as metropolitan.
(vi) State:
It is an ecological Social Group based on territory. It is more stabilized of heterogeneous groups of people.
5. Government and Political Organization:
(i) Democracy:
‘Government by the people of the people for the people’, e.g., India, USA.
(ii) Autocracy:
Ruler is absolute in power, e.g. Jordan.
(iii) Monarchy:
Head of State is Monarch, e.g., UK.
(iv) Socialistic:
Production is owned and controlled by state, e.g., China and Cuba.
(v) Oligarchy:
The country is ruled by a family group, e.g., Thailand, Saudi Arabia.
4. Essay on Family and Its Types:
The family is a primary unit in all societies. It is a group of biologically related individuals living together and eating from a common kitchen. Household members are not blood-related, e.g., servants. Family is representative of biological unit, social unit, cultural unit, epidemiological unit and unit for providing social services.
Types of Families:
a. Nuclear Families or Elementary Families:
It includes married couples and their children where children are regarded as dependents. They occupy same dwelling house.
b. New Families:
It is applied to those under 10 year duration and consist of parents and children.
c. Joint Families or Extended Families:
It consists of a number of married couples and their children who live together in the same household.
All the men are related by blood and women of household are their wives, unmarried girls and widows of the family kinsmen.
All the property held in common and a common family purse.
All the authority is vested in the senior male member of the family.
d. Three Generation Family:
When couple lives with parents and the couple have their children—hence three generations living together.
5. Essay on Cultural Factors Effecting Health:
Transmission of behaviour by learning from one generation to another is called culture. Talor defines “culture is that complex whole which included knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society”.
a. Customs:
It arose from the impelling force of need which lead to efforts and certain course of action thus habits, routine and skills were developed and were practiced by the entire group. The way then turned into customs and became phenomenon of mass population.
b. Folkways:
Ways of acting which are common to a society on a group and which are handed down from one generation to another are known as folkways.
c. Mores:
Mores are common ways of acting which are regarded as proper and right than folkways. When man is walking on the left side of road accompanying a woman is a folkway but a man marrying a woman after he has seduced her is a more.
d. Law:
Common mores customs are recognised by Sovereignty/Government are known as law.
e. Tradition:
When knowledge as part of culture is handed down orally from generation to generation and practiced in the group of people it is known as tradition.
f. Belief:
It is customary faith and confidence and practiced by the group of people as truth, e.g.. People believe in supernatural powers of some kind.
g. Religion:
It is characterised by a belief in and an emotional attitude towards some super-natural being.
h. Superstition:
Formal mode of behaviour and faith in supernatural power and act accordingly without arguments.
6. Essay on Causation and Prevention of Diseases:
a. Causation of Disease:
(i) Breach of Taboo:
Venereal diseases are believed by some due to illicit sexual intercourse with a woman of low caste or woman during menses.
(ii) Past Sins:
Leprosy is caused by sins.
(iii) Evil Eye:
Children are very much susceptible from evil eye.
(iv) Wrath of Gods and Goddesses:
Smallpox and chickenpox known as Bari Mata & Chhoti Mata—Pujas are made for them.
(v) Ghost Intrusion:
Hysteria and epilepsy are sought due to ghost or spirit.
(vi) Impure Blood:
Boils and scabies are considered due to impure blood.
b. Food Habits:
(i) Vegetarianism and Non-Vegetarianism:
Jain and Higher Caste traditional Hindus do not eat meat and eggs. Muslims do not eat pork. Non-Veg. Hindus do not eat cow-meat.
(ii) Cold Food and Hot Food:
Curd, Radish considered Cold food can cause cold, coryza and rhinitis. Jaggery, Eggs, Cashew nuts and dates are considered hot food; can cause bleeding through nose and skin rashes.
(iii) Papaya is not Eaten by Pregnant Lady:
It is considered that Papaya initiates pregnant abortion.
c. Environmental Sanitation:
(i) More than 95% people in rural areas are habituated for open area defecation.
(ii) Disposal of wastes is done nearby residence causing insect nuisance.
(iii) Rural houses are kutehan and damp, ill- lighted and ill-ventilated.
d. Personal Hygiene:
(i) Indian is very particular for using of twig of Neem for oral hygiene.
(ii) Bathing:
Few groups of society are very particular in bathing.
(iii) Smoking:
Smoking is very common in Indian communities. It includes bidis, Hubble-bubble, cigarette and cigar.
(iv) People in rural area moving bare feet causing hookworm infestation.
7. Essay on Social Classification—Need for Constant Updating:
Abstract:
Socio-economic status influences the health of individuals and also the utilization of available health facilities. Of several available parameters, such as income, occupation, education, religion, caste, place of residence etc., the per capita monthly income has been the basis of the Prasad’s Social Classifications which is most commonly used in Indian studies.
With inflationary trends of the economy this classification needs constant revision. An attempt has been made to link it with the all India Consumer Pride Index (AICP) and a modified classification has been proposed with a built-in provision of its updating from time to time to keep it relevant and useful.
8. Essay on Social Elastification: Consumer Price Index (CPI):
Social scientists the world over have considered occupation as the most important determinant of the level of social standing of an individual in society. The classification of the British Registrar General, which has been tried in Indian studies too, is based on occupation.
Prasad’s Classification was further modified in 1968(3) and 1970 is based on per capita monthly income. Kuppuswamy’s (1976) classification takes into account all the three characteristics (occupation, income and education) but its utility is restricted in urban population only.
So far Prasad’s classifications have been quite effective in their task. But with the passage of time and inflationary trends of the economy, the original income limits set in these classifications have become substantially low and impractical. In order to solve this problem, what was needed was an hypothetical value of CIP in relation of 1960-61 so that the original classification can still be used with necessary modifications.
By deriving a multiplication factor of 4.93 which transforms current values of CPI (base year 1981-82) into a hypothetical value of CPI in relation to the base year 1960-61.
Therefore, the multiplication factor will be:
= Value of CPI x 4.93/100
The next step is to multiply the income limits with this factor and round them off to the nearest ten rupees. Income limits thus obtained, are for more practical and realistic. For example, to compute a social classification for March 1991, the multiplication factor will be
= 588 x 4.93/100
…. 28.99 or 29
588 = AICPI for March 2007 (8)
Prefer give for Jan. 2009
The proposed classification for this period is given in above table. It can be derived for any period by referring AICPI (All India Consumer Price Index) of same period.
9. Essay on Social Sciences Dealing with Human Behaviour:
a. Sociology:
i. Deals with the study of society, social interactions and social institutions and organisations.
ii. Its related social sciences are history, political sciences, economics and geography.
iii. Benefits significantly from cultural anthropology and social psychology studies the behaviour of individuals in social groups.
iv. Analyses social processes determining group behaviour.
b. Anthropology:
i. Deals with the study of the primitive man.
ii. Its branches are physical anthropology, social anthropology, cultural anthropology and medical anthropology.
iii. Cultural anthropology provides an in-depth understanding of human culture right from priimitive times.
iv. Traces the origin, growth and development of human culture and behaviour from historical roots.
c. Psychology:
i. Deals with the study of the human mind.
ii. Its branches are social psychology educational psychology, industrial psychology, clinical psychology and child psychology.
iii. Social psychology deals with collective behaviour of individuals.
iv. Analyses mental processes determining the behaviour of individuals.
10. Essay on Social Constraints:
a. Poverty and Destitution:
i. Problem Statement:
Poverty is a relative condition opposed to richness. It denotes poor economic status in relation to others. Destitution is a state of abject poverty, a state of extreme deprivation.
ii. Problem Outcome:
Poverty-striken families are condemned to poor housing, insanitary surrounding, underfeeding, undernutrition, illiteracy and ignorance. Destitute families are not even able to obtain minimum quantity or food for survival. Poverty and destitution are associated with high morbidity, high mortality and high fertility rates.
iii. Problem Management:
Poverty can be managed by people-friendly government by introducing a balanced national development based on distributive justice with preferential consideration for the poorest of the poor.
Poverty alleviation, employment generation, vocation-oriented education and family planning are quite useful approaches.
b. Illiteracy and Ignorance:
i. Problem Statement:
A person is considered illiterate if he cannot read and wirte. Ignorance is a wider concept, which can affect literate as well as illiterate individuals.
ii. Problem Outcome:
Ignorance and illiteracy contribute significantly to morbidity, mortality and population overgrowth. Ignorance and illiteracy of people make them resist public health measures, refuse education and avoid health care facilities available to them.
iii. Problem Management:
Only education can eliminate illiteracy and ignorance. Non-formal education, basic compulsory education and vocation oriented education are useful approaches. Relevant legislation and motivation can play a supportive role.
c. Migration and Environmental Crisis:
i. Problem Statement:
Population migration may be rural-urban or rural-rural; both forms lead to environmental crisis.
ii. Problem Outcome:
Migration results in environmental insanitation and environmental degradation which threaten the health and well-being of the local population, but migrants are the worst sufferers. Besides suffering from environmental diseases they are also exposed to traffic hazards and sexual evils of various kinds.
iii. Problem Management:
Can be managed through programmes that can generate employment opportunities for the agricultural labourers and marginal farmers. Public awareness programmes on the undesirable consequences of environmental insanitation and environmental degeneration can prepare the ground.
d. Industrialisation and Urbanisation:
i. Problem Statement:
Industrialisation provides the necessary basis for socioeconomic development all over the world. It generates huge demand for man-power necessitating migration of young population from rural areas which accelerate the pace of urbanisation.
ii. Problem Outcome:
Reckless industrialisation increases the magnitude of public health problems through environmental and migration of pollution. Industrial workers as well as the local population are exposed to industrial and environmental diseases and also to social evils of multiple kinds’ origination from migrant workers.
iii. Problem Management:
Can be managed by enactment of laws and their enforcement to guide the growth and development of industries on scientific lines and to prevent environmental pollution. Health education and public awareness on ill effect of industrialisation and slum proliferation can facilitate the legal effort.
11. Essay on Compartments of Social Environment:
i. Differentiating Features of Socio-Cultural Environment:
a. Represented by- Cultural milieu of people and their way of life
b. Reflected in- Traits mores, fashions and folkways of people.
c. Positive Impact- A healthy socio-cultural environment to promote community health through healthy belief, customs and traditions.
d. Negative Impact- An unhealthy socio-cultural environment undermines community health through unhealthy beliefs, customs and traditions.
ii. Differentiating Features of Socio-Economic Environment:
a. Represented by- Economic milieu of people and their quality of life.
b. Reflected in- National income, family income, standard of living and social class.
c. Positive impact- A healthy socio-economic environment can promote community health through better standard of life and greater access to health and health care.
d. Negative impact- An unhealthy socioeconomic environment can undermine community health by denying basic necessities of life and health care facilities.
iii. Differentiating Features of Socio-Political Environment:
a. Represented by- Political milieu of people and their political system.
b. Reflected in- Structure, functioning and performance of the government
c. Positive Impact- A healthy socio-political environment created by a performing goverment can promote community health by paying due attention to health, education and social welfare.
d. Negative Impact- An unhealthy socio-political environment and a non-performing government can promote poverty, destitution and ill-health.
iv. Differentiating Features of Socio-Ethical Environment:
a. Represented by– Ethical milieu of people and their religious and moral roots.
b. Reflected in- Religious beliefs, moral values and community perceptions.
c. Positive Impact- A healthy socio-ethical environment can promote community health and welfare by organising social defence against social evils.
d. Negative Impact- An unhealthy socio-ethical environment can promote antisocial activities like casteism, sectarianism and social evils of various kinds.
12. Essay on Social Deviance:
a. Drug Abuse:
i. Problem Statement:
When a drug is taken for non-medical purpose, especially in a dosage or frequency that exceeds the pharmacological norms, it amounts to drug abuse.
ii. Problem Outcome:
Drug abusers pass through the stages of induction, continuation and addiction. They undergo personality changes associated with physical, mental and psychological manifestation, which undermines their health. They eventually succumb to complications of addiction.
iii. Problem Management:
Drug abuse can be prevented by health education and public awareness programmes, timely intervention in susceptible individuals and rehabilitation of the drug addicts.
b. Juvenile:
i. Problem Statement:
Juvenile delinquency is a behaviour disorder of deviant adolescents. Its spectrum extends from misbehaviour to assault and includes robbery and heinous crimes. There are several types of delinquents.
ii. Problem Outcome:
Sociological delinquents carry approval of their community. They assault in groups and maintain close links with their community. Psychopathic delinquents are indifferent to human sufferings that they cause. Neurotic delinquents are isolated and depressed and surrender to law enforcing agencies quite readily.
iii. Problem Management:
Preventive measures include education of parents for responsible parenting, timely intervention for appropriate counselling and rehabilitation of delinquent children.
c. Suicide:
i. Problem Statement:
Suicide is usually committed by those who are unable to face stress owing to their poor coping competence. The suiciders generally suffer from poor self-image, consider themselves as a burden on society, and eventually commit suicide, believing it to be the only face-saving mechanism of escape.
ii. Problem Outcome:
The nature of suicide outcome is extremely variable. It depends on the extent of social, emotional and economical void caused by the deceased individuals.
iii. Problem Management:
Suicide attempts can be prevented by timely intervention, appropriate counselling and rehabilitation of suicide-prone individuals. Legislation can serve as a deterrent.