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Functionalist Approach To Health And Social Care

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Health is something different to each individual. It can be described as simply being able to function daily, to fulfil a social role. According to Talcott Parsons (1979) this functionalist approach was essential to maintain good health and healthcare. Hence, avoiding impairment of our roles in society. The Medical model similarly describes health as ‘an absence of disease’ however, does not consider factors associated with the mind, just focuses on physical illness. (Nettleton, 2013 and Walsh & Tait, 2014). On the other hand, the World Health Organisation defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 2015) this can be seen as an interactionist view …show more content…

Although she has been diagnosed with this illness she may feel it will not progress as only occurs in the elderly, however this perception is often grossly incorrect and can be corrected by education. Further difficulties can be encountered here as Ava has emigrated to the UK from Poland therefore language barriers may effect her understanding. She has left family in Poland and has recently broken up with her partner of 4 years in the UK, consequently could be feeling, confused, and isolated. Healthcare in Poland is different, and does not include all the services we receive free of charge from the NHS in the UK, an example: is the patient may need to make a contribution to the cost of their care in Poland. This may be affecting Ava’s decision to take any advice recommended by her doctor. (NHS Choices, …show more content…

NHS Choices (2014) claims that your GP should be your first point of professional contact for any illness, "the family doctor is like a social worker as they often deal with non-medical issues, such as housing, relationships or finances, which may be making you ill." (NHS Choices, 2014) However, for how many of us is this true, as according to the NHS Confederation (2015) “63.5 per cent 'definitely ' had confidence and trust in the last GP they saw” (NHS Confederation, 2015) On the other hand Ava could be among the remaining 36.5% of patients with reduced confidence in their GP, therefore another obstacle between Ava and good

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Solomon believes our mind and self can be represented with the Copenhagen interpretation. Just like how energy and matter sometimes acts as a wave or a particle, the “similar duality” can be applied to an individual (372). Many situations are a mixture of both illness and identity, however if we were to obscure one part of the equation, only then would we be able to see the other. Consequently, Solomon believes society should change their standpoint of illness not being part of a person’s identity and instead come up with “syncretic mechanics” where the “two concepts are not opposites, but compatible aspects of a condition” (372).

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Another efficient advantage is due to the fact that on average primary level health care are less expensive compared to secondary and tertiary health care such as specialists. This means that due to gatekeeping, patients that don’t require specialist (secondary health care) do not get to see them, reducing in cost majorly. For example, a study that was conducted in 2014 found that since Austria is not subjected to gatekeeping, patients in Austria tend to seek specialist 4 times more compared to countries that are subjected to gatekeeping (Laura, 2015). This means that cost is higher due to higher over-utilization of

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Looking at society as a whole with individual units that work together to make society function efficiently is the structural functionalism concept. Each unit has a part and is describe as institutions such as family, religion, education, politics, economy and inequality. Because structural functionalism looks at social structure and patterns of behavior it is able to create values for society. As well as, distinguish between visible and suppressed problems within the social structures that may need to be addressed. For instance, homelessness is indication of dysfunction in structural functionalism system.

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The term substance abuse is predominately used to signify an unhealthy and devitalizing obsession on a mind-altering chemical substance. In addition, it is most often used to refer to illegal drugs as well as legal, regulated substances such as prescription medications and alcohol. Drug abuse is usually considered a punishable offence by many countries and is also regarded as being personally and socially detrimental. Three major sociological paradigms including functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism delve in to the world of addiction as well as the controversies that surround this social issue.

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The functionalist perspective argue that society provides us with norms or guidelines (Leon-Guerrero 2014). There can be shown a difference of the way people expect to behave when drinking. According to Caetano, Clark, and Tam, people who lack norms to control their behavior, they are likely to purse self-destructive behaviors such as alcohol abuse (Leon-Guerrero 2014). For instance, doctors warn about the dangers of alcohol use and even advertisers promote the use of alcohol and the affects. Yet we still drink no matter what the causes are.

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The functionalism theory is a macro-level theory. It sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote equilibrium and stability. These parts may be functional, which means that the society has beneficial consequences. They may also be dysfunctional, which means that society will have negative consequences. Both of these together will create equilibrium among the society, which

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It ignored a ‘mind-body connection’. Health however, is not simply limited to biology. “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not simply the absence of disease or infirmity” as defined by the World Health Organisation. The biopsychosocial model is an absolute necessity for clinical practice - it allows physicians to treat people who have diseases and not just the diseases people have. This will give us the ability to understand people beyond their biological functioning and to view human health in its fullest context.

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Barriers in Health and Social Care: The barriers in health and social care are physical barriers, psychological barriers, financial barriers, geographical barriers, cultural/language barriers and resource barriers. Physical barrier Physical barrier are objects that prevent an individual from getting to their destination. For example, a wheelchair user is unable to enter a building because there are steps so they can’t get through the entrance.

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In short, the biological model of health is mainly defined from the absence of disease, from the model that is well-matched with positive meanings in relation to balance of normal functioning. The social model health is actually a positive state of well-being and wholeness linked with however this is not mainly explained from the non-existence of disease, physical, mental impairment and illness (Gross, 2010). Overall the concepts of ill health and health are not balanced. Non-existences of disease might be part of health, however health is considered more than the “absence of disease”.

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Virtue Theory is a functional and practical theory in the sense that by focusing predominantly on the character of a person much rather than judging people for their actions that they have committed and marking whether is is right or wrong which reflects back on the person to determine whether they are morally good or bad. Virtue ethics gives back sense of humanity as it focuses in what makes us human, or much rather what makes us a good human. This theory looks at a person's life as whole because it is inevitable to be a perfect being. People make mistakes early and late in life, so virtue ethics takes in account all that has occurred in one's life to add and press into their essential character. It is noted that character are malleable and

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Introduction Health is an important element throughout our life. A person’s health can be affected by many social factors such as gender roles and economic positions. As there are differences in health status between different populations groups, health inequality is then formed, for example, differences in morbidity and mortality rates between people from different social classes. In my essay, I will first define the meaning of ‘health’ from different perspectives. Then, I will talk about how social factors such as gender roles and economic positions determine a person’s health.

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Functionalism can be defined as a psychological philosophy, which considers mental life and behavior with regards to active adaptation to the person’s environment. Therefore, it provides people with the general basis on which they can develop psychological theories that are not readable and testable through controlled experiments and applied psychology. The whole idea of functionalism first arose in the United States back in the 19th century. During that time, it was used as an alternative to structuralism (Zhong, 2008).

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Demonstrating ‘respect for patients’ values, preferences and expressed needs,’ is one of the eight dimensions of person centred care outlined by the Picker Institute (ref). Morgan and Yoder (2012) described ‘respectful care’ as being an attribute of person centred and while the author does not disagree with this idea of ‘respectful care’ being inherent to person centred care, the author believes that Slater (2006) more accurately describes dignity and respect as being antecedents of person centred care. These antecedents drive respect of personal values, individual needs and decisions, a consequence of which is an improved therapeutic relationship and health outcomes. The author considers this view of dignity, compassion and respect as antecedents

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When exploring what is health, it looks at the idea of an individual being free from illness or injuries (World Health Organization 1948). WHO further explains that it is the state of complete: physical, mental, and social well-being and not the absence of disease or infirmity (health context, 2018) In 1986 during Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, WHO said health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living, also is a positive concept emphasizing social, personal resources, and physical capacities. There are different aspects that contribute and impact a person’s health such as their: family and friends, education or job, body, spirit and mind, and all these need to balance to ensure good health (health context, 2018).

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Any idea?? Health – according to World Health Organization (WHO), health is the state of being complete physical, mental and social well being, and not merely freedom to disease or absences of any infirmity. So meaning, even when you are physically fit but you are not mentally and socially well, you cant still call yourself a healthy person.

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