Sociology of Health in the UK

Sociology of Health in the UK Introduction The concept of the sociology of health has been discussed over time since the evolution of the concept of interrelating how general society development is related to health status of the entire society first started to rake prominence. The sociology of health is “a historical and theoretical context that attempts to understand and address how social and cultural factors influenced the understanding and distribution of how disease, response to illness, the evolution and operation of health care institutions and development of social policies” (Albrecht, 2006, p.

13). Among the issues that have been raised in an effort to exhaustively examine the influence of the sociology of health on society include: The various theories of health, the medical profession, the relationship between healing systems and theories of health, and what is the exact right of citizens with regards to the right to proper healthcare and life.

Buy this excellently written paper or order a fresh one from acemyhomework.com

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH IN THE UK

2

This paper emphasizes on the sociology of health in the British Isles and how it has developed with relation to the rest of Europe over the past 150 years. The invention of the steam engine not only heralded great invention in mechanical sector but also introduced the entire European continent to the industrial revolution. Advances in industry corresponded with great scientific innovations in pharmacy where the discovery of penicillin and the invention of such drugs as aspirin greatly influenced how doctors and medical practitioners combated disease (Murmann, 2002). Pharmaceutical advancements resulted in decrease of mortality rates as the number of individuals dying from avoidable diseases was greatly reduced. Despite these improvements in healthcare conditions throughout Europe and indeed in the UK, there were still some unavoidable medical epidemics that swept through Europe with devastating effects such as the Russian Flu (Acemoglu, Johnson & Robinson, 2003). Still much advancement was made in terms of healthcare reforms, such as universal and affordable medical insurance coverage to the entire citizenry of Britain. All these aside, the medical schemes are continually faced with allegations of inequalities in terms of class and gender (Lowdell, Bardsley & Morgan, 1999).

Birth and death rates effects on family patterns and gender roles The economic effects of birth and death rates are directly linked as the level of life expectancy, poor health, and infectious disease prevalence serve to affect the output of a population (Nettleton, 2006). In Britain, it was not until the end of the Second World War that life expectancy and birth rates started to improve. The war had had a devastating effect on the life expectancy as many were killed in combat or after suffering as direct casualties of war.

However, the reconstruction efforts after the end of the war ensured that the resultant economic growth translated to a better standard of living as the number of individuals who succumbed to avoidable communicable and water borne diseases were greatly reduced. Cholera outbreaks

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH IN THE UK

3

which were the norm in most of Europe in the late 18th century started to disappear as industrial development ensured better waste management in the continent (Albrecht, 2006).

During the adverse effects of disease in Britain, it was the women and children who were particularly vulnerable as they were the ones who were most exposed to diseases such as cholera and the plague within the local villages and homes. What further compounded the problem of birth and death rates were the great numbers of people who lived in poverty as job opportunities were few and levels of unemployment skyrocketed. The effect of unemployment made access to quality healthcare to be extremely difficult for a majority of the population. The women of the society continually faced discrimination and found it particularly difficult to find gainful employment. With the gradual improvement in the economies of Britain after the world war in the 1950s, a boom in the manufacturing and service sector ensured that unemployment levels dropped and many were able to access quality healthcare, hence the reduction of birth and death rates (Busse et al, 2010).

Main causes of death over the past 150 years Europe has long been the world’s battle ground with the first and second world wars particularly having a profound effect by completely devastating the populations of nations. Apart from the world wars’ effects, Europe has been devastated by severe health epidemics over the years. Some of these epidemics that have devastated the continent in the past century and a half have been the 1889 Russian Flu and the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemics (Acemoglu, Johnson & Robinson, 2003). Over the past few decades, however, chronic diseases have evolved to become the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Britain (Busse et al, 2010). Diseases like diabetes were initially a preserve of the old and rich in society, but trends in the kind of food stuffs that are being consumed have served to see an increase of chronic diseases on the poor, young

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH IN THE UK

4

persons and the middle-aged in society. The effect of chronic diseases are not just linked to diet, but rather a number of different factors such as sexual behavior, lifestyle choices like drinking and smoking and the genetic predisposition of individuals (WHO Europe, 2010).

Causes of improved healthcare over the past 150 years The causes of improved healthcare for the purposes of this paper will be divided into three portions each with significance on the global trends that were experienced in the healthcare sector between the late nineteenth and early twenty first century. The first portion deals with the direct effect of industrialization on the pharmaceutical industry (Murmann, 2002). Such effects as the Alexander Fleming’s discovery of Penicillin in 1928 without doubt revolutionized how bacterial diseases were treated by using this antibiotic drug and indeed other antibiotics that were fermented in industry using the same process as that of penicillin. Another significant drug that revolutionized the European healthcare sector is the German invention drug Aspirin which was perfected from salicylic acid by Bayer AG. After the defeat of the Germans in World War I, Bayer AG lost its patent rights to the drug which resulted in the world wide spread and use of the drug.

The second portion is the introduction of drug and pharmaceutical regulatory bodies which greatly influenced the effectiveness and safety of drugs that were used to treat various ailments. The main cause of government involvement in the regulatory business was the fact that ethical and moral base of the emerging pharmaceutical industries of the early to mid 1900s could not be trusted to provide effective and safe medication (Abraham, 2008). Governments therefore took it upon themselves to regulate the efficacy, safety and drug quality in public health on behalf of the patients. Effective drug regulation in the UK was a bit delayed despite the serious consequences that the US faced in 1937 due to the effects of the drug Elixir Sulfanilamide; still

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH IN THE UK

5

the Ministry of Health did not intervene. However, a need to regulate the use of patent medicine mainly due to the industrial commercial interests of the time gave rise to the Pharmacy and Medicines Act in1941 (Nettleton, 2006). The implementation of legally enforceable regulations was not to come until 1971 as a result of the Medicines Act of 1968.

The third cause of improved healthcare over the past century and a half in the UK has been the healthcare reforms that have been implemented in the country either through policy or legislation. Among these reforms are the concept of ‘New Public Health (NPH)’ and health promotion, shifts of healthcare from the traditional hospital aspect to the development of community care and rise of patient choice and consumerism (Nettleton, 2006). Over the decades individuals in Britain were encouraged to take charge of their personal health responsibilities.

There was an increase in the non-institutional healthcare centers and the openness in terms of participation in the shaping of healthcare policies and legislation. With regard to the sociology of health, the significance in Britain has been largely due to health policy developments which continually aimed to provide analysis on contemporary issues by critiquing healthcare policies with the aim of improving them for the better. The last aspect of the importance of sociology of health which has gone to improve healthcare in Britain is the conducting of studies by the Health Ministry and other government agencies on the merits and de-merits of health programs that serve to give rise to inequalities and disparities in the healthcare sector (WHO Europe, 2010).

Causes of social class and gender inequalities The health sector in the UK has been facing a number of challenges over the years, more so than the inequalities that arise due to race, gender and economic disposition of the entire population (Nettleton, 2006). Such were the inequalities as a result of social class in the National Health Service (NHS) that in 1980, the Black Report was published by the Department of Health

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH IN THE UK

6

and Social Security which showed the disparities and inequalities that existed in the health sector of the British society (Maguire, 2002). What the Sir Douglas Black led committee found was that economic inequality was the main cause of health inequalities with the death rate of men in the lower social class V being twice as much as that of men in the higher social class I. What was even more worrying, according to the findings, was the fact that the economic gap was continually increasing, which arrayed fears that if the trend continued unchecked the inequalities would continue (Albrecht, 2006).

True, economic inequalities exist as a result of diversity in terms of property ownership, occupation, access to resources and the educational status of individuals. After the publication of the Black Report, the Department of Health was keen to implement the various recommendations so as to curb the growing inequalities. Therefore in 1998, an inquiry led by Sir Donald Acheson published a report to see the nation’s progress in the healthcare sector after the Black Report (Lowdell, Bardsley & Morgan, 1999). The Acheson Report came up with strong recommendations in policy development that were aimed at once and for all reducing and eventually getting rid of health sector inequalities by making economic inequality reduction the main priority in its implementation.

Conclusion In as much as the British Isles have experienced tremendous changes in economic and social growth in the past 150 years that have resulted into improved standards of living, the nation still continues to face major challenges. The major challenge has been the economic disparities that are skewed against citizens depending on their gender and class. The sociology of health has revealed that even with the drop in birth and death rates in the country, persistent inequalities still continue to influence family patterns negatively. The positive aspect that has

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH IN THE UK

7

however been evident over this period has been the reduction in casualty numbers from avoidable diseases due to innovations and regulations in the pharmaceutical industry.

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH IN THE UK

8 References

Abraham, J. (2008). Sociology of pharmaceutical development and regulation: a realist empirical research programme. Sociology of Health & Illness, 30(6), 869-885.

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S. and Robinson, J. (2003). Disease and development in historical perspective. Journal of the European Economic Association, 1(2-3), 397-405.

Albrecht, G. (2006).The sociology of health and illness: The SAGE handbook of sociology.

Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Busse, R., Blumel, M., Scheller_Kreinsen, D. & Zenter, A. (2010).Tackling chronic diseases in Europe. Strategies, interventions and challenges. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. (Observatory Studies Series No. 20).

Lowdell, C., Bardsley, M. & Morgan, D. (1999). The inquiry into the inequalities in health implications for London. Acheson Report, A Discussion Paper. April, 1999.

Maguire, K. (2002). The Black Report and inequalities in health. Sociologies of Health & Illness E-Learning Databank. Retrieved on May 18, 2012 from http://www.media-studio.co.uk/.

Murmann, J. P. (2002). Chemical industries after 1850. Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History. May 17, 2002.

Nettleton, S. (2006). The sociology of health and illness. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

WHO Europe. (2010, March). Social and gender inequalities in environment and health. World Health Organization, Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Parma, Italy, 10-12 March 2010.