Health and Illness

Health risks are unevenly distributed in the United States and around the world. Social factors play a major role in our individual health. The social factors that affect our health are associated with specific characteristic including: race, culture, gender, and social class. Going back to the concept of playing field we can see that in several instances our health is affected by factors that are not directly in our control. The following are a few examples of playing field and health.(Image courtesy of marin/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

One example of health and playing field is childhood obesity. The article from the reader, “Let Them Eat Fat…” goes into detail on the obesity problem in our country today and directly stated the causes and long term effects of obesity. Note that in some cases today parents have been held legally responsible for their child’s obesity and it has been considered abuse in several instances.

An example of how our culture can put us at risk is to note that in some cultures medical care is considered a luxury and yearly physicals are not the norm. In some cultures holistic rather than modern medicine is also practiced. One example is the cervical cancer rates for Vietnamese American women which is 43%, whereas, for white women the rate is 7.5%. This difference is due to screening rates and the low screening rates for Vietnamese women (due to misconceptions about pap smears, language barriers, and social class as it relates to health coverage). Another example is the suicide rates among Asian American women over 65 years old. These women have the highest suicide rate among those over 65 years old in our country. The high rates have been attributed to 1) culture shock (changes in the cultural and social roles of these immigrant women once they move to the United States) and 2) the view that seeking professional help for mental illness is a sign of weakness. These are just a few examples of how our culture can affect our health. Can you think of other examples of culture affecting one’s health?

We can see that in terms of social class as well as race that most of the differences in health and illness are related to lifestyle. One example is that of Native American and Latino men who are more likely to have cirrhosis of the liver than their male counterparts. The disease is attributed to alcohol consumption and alcohol consumption is related to poverty and social stress.

Post-traumatic stress syndrome is correlated to social class. Children living in poverty or gang infested communities have indirect as well as personal exposure to violence and trauma. These children are more likely to have behavioral as well as academic problems, problems concentrating, sleep disorders, as well as other health problems.

Second-hand smoke is also a playing field issue. Think of children who have parents who smoke and the health risks they are exposed to. Children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to fail physical endurance tests, have more colds, have asthma, and are more likely to smoke (social learning theory). Passive smoking causes approximately 40,000 deaths each year.

Ask yourself how your playing field has affected your health (mental and physical health).

AIDS IN AFRICA
www.africaaction.org

http://www.one.org/

LINKS

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

http://www.health.gov/

Search the website for information on health in the U.S. and be sure to scroll down and click on “Steps to a Healthier U.S.”

National Center for Health Statistics:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

http://www.cdc.gov/

Related Posts

• 

  Global Stratification Assignment Guide
  Global Stratification Assignment Guide
• 

  Vitual Environments Assignment Guide
  Vitual Environments Assignment Guide
• 

  Cultural Relativism Assignment Guide
  Cultural Relativism Assignment Guide
• 

  Diversity Training Assignment Guide
  Diversity Training Assignment Guide