SOCI-1015EL Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Talcott Parsons, Sick Role, Medical Sociology
16 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
SOCI1015!
March 13, 2018!
Health and Medicine !
ā¢Health care created in Saskatchewan by Tommy Douglas (CCF party)!
ā¢What does politics have to do with health?!
ā¢In Vancouver, theyāre pushing to decriminalize all street drugs !
ā¢
ā¢The Social Side of Medicine!
ā¢Medical sociology: based on the view that medical practices and beliefs are intensely
social !
ā¢Draw on political sociology!
ā¢Seeks to generate sociologic data to develop heath care policies !
ā¢Seeks to improve delivery of health care through sociologically informed research!
ā¢Draws on critical sociology !
ā¢Critical examination of the practices of pharmaceutical companies, medical schools,
and health care providers !
ā¢Healing is achieved through social factors !
ā¢Race, gender, ethnicity, age, class can all greatly aļ¬ect and individualsās experience of
medical professions !
ā¢The Sick Role!
ā¢Talcott Parsons introduced the concept of the sick tole in his book The Social System!
ā¢Being sick is a social that comes with a set of expectations !
ā¢Regulates what a sick person can expect from society!
ā¢Regulates what society should expect of the sick person!
ā¢Structural functionalism presumes social uniformity of experiences !
ā¢Four expectations of the sick/patient role:!
ā¢Should be exempted from normal social responsibilities !
ā¢Should be taken care of instead of having to take care of themselves!
ā¢Are socially obligated to try and get well!
ā¢Are socially obligated to seek technically competent help !
ā¢E.L. Koos critiqued Parsonās view of the sick role!
ā¢The sick role is not the same for everybody !
ā¢He noted that the higher oneās class, the easier it was for them to play that role !
ā¢In addition to variations of class, there are variations in relation to gender, race and
ethnic backgrounds!
ā¢ex) society has diļ¬erent expectations of mothers!
