Why is the United States the last industrial country to adopt a national health care program? Which sociological perspective(s) best explains why public and political support for health care reform has been difficult to achieve? 2.) How is illness functional in society? What behavior is expected from someone who is sick? 3.) Explain from a conflict perspective how health inequalities are shaped by conflict and competing interests between groups.

QUESTION

Answer the following questions in complete sentences (4-5 sentence responses):

1.) Why is the United States the last industrial country to adopt a national health care program? Which sociological perspective(s) best explains why public and political support for health care reform has been difficult to achieve?

2.) How is illness functional in society? What behavior is expected from someone who is sick?

3.) Explain from a conflict perspective how health inequalities are shaped by conflict and competing interests between groups.

4.) You will listen to a podcast on medical history and answer questions about how it demonstrates the social construction of health and illness. The podcast, Sawbones, (http://maximumfun.org/shows/sawbones (Links to an external site.)) is a weekly show where a husband-and-wife team (she’s a medical doctor and he’s a comedian) discuss a variety of topics in medical history, often focusing on a particular disease or a particular treatment.

First, choose one of the following episodes of Sawbones.

• “Birth Control” (http://maximumfun.org/sawbones/sawbones-birth-control (Links to an external site.))
• “Lobotomy” (http://maximumfun.org/sawbones/sawbones-lobotomy (Links to an external site.))
• “Hysteria” (http://maximumfun.org/sawbones/sawbones-hysteria (Links to an external site.))
• “Green Sickness” (http://maximumfun.org/sawbones/sawbones-green-sickness (Links to an external site.))

Then, write your answers to the following questions:

1. Which social factors (class, race, gender, etc.) influenced the treatment or illness you studied? How?
2. How did conceptions of morality or responsibility factor into the understanding of the illness or treatment? How does this reveal how health and illness are socially constructed?

3. How did shared understandings of the disease affect public policy about the disease or the afflicted?

ANSWER