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Sociology of Health and Illness

Course Code:

PNOS0206

Semester:

2nd Semester

Specialization Category:

ΜΓΥ

Course Hours:

Theory 3

ECTS:

3

Eclass Link:

https://nurs.uniwa.gr/course/koinoniologia-tis-ygeias-kai-tis-astheneias/


 

STUDENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Written final exam (100%) that includes:

    • Multiple choice questions
    • Short answer questions
    • Critical thinking questions
    • Open-ended questions

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course the student:

  • Will have an understanding of theories and concepts that will allow the analysis of health and disease in social and cultural terms, and an understanding of the contribution of the sociology of health / disease to the problematics of the biomedical model,
  • Will have knowledge of the main sociological theories and approaches, and their relationship with the Nursing profession,
  • Will Identify the social factors that affect the level of health and illness, and assess the role of the health services involved,
  • Will make optimal use of the appropriate bibliographic sources in order to develop arguments regarding the social dimension of health / illness / hospital / nursing profession,
  • Will analyze and evaluate the behaviors of patients and other health professionals in a case study,
  • Will collaborate with fellow students to present material / study to the class.

 

GENERAL COMPETENCES

    • Adaptation to new situations
    • Respect for diversity and multiculturalism
    • Teamwork
    • Working in an international environment
    • Working in an interdisciplinary environment
    • Clinical decision making

The aim of the course is to acquire knowledge and familiarize participants with the basic concepts and principles of the sociological approach for a deeper understanding of issues related to health and disease. This introductory course has three sub-objectives:

    • to introduce students to theories and concepts that will enable the understanding of health and disease in social and cultural terms,
    • to develop students’ critical thinking and reflection through the study of sources that will allow them to understand the impact of the social environment on the development of health and disease, as well as the nursing profession,
    • to understand the position and identity of nursing in health services, through the presentation and analysis of social studies,
    • to highlight that the concepts of health, disease, body and healing do not have the same meaning in all societies.

 

Course Outline

 

SYLLABUS

The topics of the course are developed around the following axes:

  • Introduction to the theory of the sociology of health and disease – units 1-3,
  • Sociological approach to health and disease – units 4-6,
  • Relationship between nursing and the social view of health and illness – units 7-9,
  • The experience of the disease, social and cultural interpretation – units 10-12

 

TEACHING UNITS (indicative)

  • Introduction to the theory of sociology of health and disease: definition of sociology, society – social system, characteristics of societies, reference to the main approaches and theorists (part A)
  • reference to the main approaches and theorists (part B), sociology / anthropology of the body, the human body and its meanings (the theory of social formation)
  • health policy, health care systems, social systems and public health (family, education, cultural system)
  • Sociological approach to health and disease: effects of social environment on health and disease, social inequalities and health status, population beliefs about health and behavior, access to health services
  • medicine and the biomedical model, the medicalization of the body and health (technology of discipline, panopticon, physiological – pathological), the disease as a medical category
  • social class / poverty / gender / ethnicity / immigration / political and cultural context / symbolism, perceptions of the body and local theories about health / disease, alternative and traditional healing (resurrection, shamanism)
  • Relation between nursing and the social and cultural view of health and illness: the “microcosm” of the hospital (formal and informal relationships), the professional-patient relationship and the nurse-doctor relationship
  • nursing care of the patient’s body, the medical gaze, in the health services (monitoring, patient history)
  • the development of the nursing profession and the division of therapeutic work, the making of clinical decisions (gender, medical visit, interdisciplinary approach), the identity of the nurse
  • The experience of the disease, social and cultural interpretation: the role of the patient, the investigation of the meanings of the disease (mental illness, AIDS, chronic illness, disability, cancer, eating disorders), self-help groups, the symptom as pain and form of resistance, gender dimensions of the disease and treatment, symbolic dimensions of the drug.
  • sociological-anthropological research: the symptom as pain and form of resistance, gender dimensions of the disease and treatment, symbolic dimensions of the drug (research presentation), challenges of modern biotechnology (reproduction, organ transplantation)
  • Presentation of sociological – anthropological studies
  • Conclusions and summary of the basic concepts of the course.