SOCA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Alternative Medicine, Tuberculosis, Influenza A Virus Subtype H5N1
Document Summary
Giddens argues that the societal focus upon health risks leaves governments and individuals debating the outcomes (there are no definite answers) Generating positive health appears to be a less important priority that preventing and reducing mortality and morbidity: mortality: death, morbidity: burden of diseases. Large, seemingly more important dangers receive more attention and are categorized as threats to health. If 400 per 100,000 flu-like symptoms have been reported in one week, this increases the perceived and actual risk of the threat. Pandemics can be classified as stronger threats because of their scope being across continents and the world. Marginalized sub-populations or hidden health issues can be neglected if this approach is used. Health scares reported on the media often emphasize physical and emotional threats (media construction and moral panics: availability of information from the media can lead to social amplification of risk, some studies in science are methodologically flawed.
