Sociology of Health and Illness

Code:

MSOCI026

Acronym:

SOCSD

Instance: 2016/2017 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	http://moodle.up.pt/course/view.php?id=1917
E-learning page:	http://moodle.up.pt/
Responsible unit:	Department of Sociology
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in Sociology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MSOCI	25	MSOCI - Study Plan	1	-	6	52	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

'Sociology of Health and Illness' is set to address the general issues of health, illness and medicine in the context of sociological analysis. The specific objectives of the course are: getting exposed and familiar with the theoretical and methodological contributions of this discipline within the general scope of Sociology; analyzing the social determinants of health and illness; getting familiar with the structural settings of health systems within a cross-country comparative approach.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the semester it is expected that students have skills in the following areas: the theoretical frameworks of health and illness; the analysis of socio-economic factors that impact on health and disease; analysis of health systems. Transversely, students will consolidate their skills in literature reviewing, in locating, selecting and collecting secondary information and in the development of argumentations according to the canons of the scientific method.

Working method

Presencial

Program

 

1. The conceptual development of sociology of health and illness

 1.1. Theoretical perspectives of Social Sciences and Humanities on Medicine, Health and Illness

 1.2. The body in medicine

 1.3. Professionals vs. Lay representations

 1.4. Social and cultural dimensions of the experience of illness

 1.5. Iatrogenesis and social structure: the role of medicine in society

 1.6. The issue of mental illness

 

2. The social determinants of health and disease

 2.1. Theoretical models of explanation of inequality

 2.2. Measurement of health and disease

 2.3. Inequalities in health and disease

 2.3.1. Factors of inequality: poverty, ethnicity, gender

 2.3.2. Access to health

 2.3.3. The impact of social policies

 

3. Health policies and organization of health care

3.1. The organization of health care

3.2. Financing models, management and control

3.3. Professional and non-professional health care

3.4. Debates about reform in health systems: international perspectives

Mandatory literature

ALVES, F.; Saúde, Medicina e Sociedade: Uma Visão Sociológica, Pactor, 2013
CARAPINHEIRO, G.; Saberes e poderes no hospital : uma sociologia dos serviços hospitalares, Edições Afrontamento, 1993
LUPTON D. ; Medicine as Culture. Illness, disease and the body in western societies, Sage, 1994
MARMOT, M.; determinants of health. 2nd ed , Oxford University Press, 2006
WHITAKER, R.; Anatomy of an epidemic : magic bullets, psychiatric drugs, and the astonishing rise of mental illness in America, Crown Publishers, 2010

Complementary Bibliography

ALBRECHT G.L., FITZPATRICK R., SCRIMSHAW S. (eds.); The Handbook of Social Studies in Health and Medicine, Londres, Sage, 1999
AUGÉ M. e HERZLICH C. ; Le Sens du Mal. Anthropologie, Histoire, Sociologie de la Maladie, des Archives Contemporaines, 1984
BLANE D., BRUNNER E. e WILKINSON R.; Health and Social Organization. Towards a Health Policy for the 21st Century, Routledge, 1996
BLOOR M. ; The Sociology of HIV Transmission, Sage, 1995
BUNTON R. e PETERSEN A.; Foucault, Health and Medicine, Routledge, 1997
BURY M. ; Health and Illness in a Changing Society, Routledge, 1997
CALNAN M. ; Health and Illness. The Lay Perspective, Tavistock, 1987
CANGUILHEM G. ; Le Normal et le Pathologique, PUF, 1991
FERREIRA F.A. ; História da Saúde e dos Serviços de Saúde em Portugal, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1990
GABE J., KEÇÇEHER D. e WILLIAMS G. (eds.) ; Challenging Medicine, Routledge, 1994
HOGG C. ; Patients, Power and Politics, Sage, 1999
HUGMAN R. ; Power in Caring Professions, Macmillan, 1991
MILES J.A. ; Women, Health and Medicine, Open University Press, 1991
PAQUET G. ; Santé et Inégalités Sociales, Institut Québécois de Recherche sur la Culture, 1990
PAYNE S. ; Women, Health and Poverty: an introduction, Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991
PETERSON A. e LUPTON D.; The New Public Health. Health and Self in the Age of Risk, Sage, 1996
POWELL F.D. e WESSWN A.(eds.); Health Care Systems in Transition, Sage, 1998
PRIOR L. ; The Social Organization of Mental Illness, Sage, 1993
SHARMA U. ; Complementary Medicine Today. Practitioners and Patients, Routledge, 1995
SILVERMAN D. ; Communication and Medical Practice. Social Relations in the Clinic, Sage, 1987
SONTAG S. ; AIDS and its Metaphors, The Penguin Books, 1989
TURNER B.S; Regulating Bodies. Essays in Medical Sociology, Routledge, 1992
AGGLETON P. ; Health, Routledge, 1990
CABRAL, Manuel Villaverde; A adesão à terapêutica em Portugal : atitudes e comportamentos da população portuguesa perante as prescrições médicas, os hábitos de saúde e o consumo de medicamentos, Imprensa de Ciências Sociais, 2010
CARAPINHEIRO G. (org.); Sociologia da Saúde: Estudos e Perspectivas, Editores Pé de Página, 2006
COHEN, M.; Health and the rise of civilization, Yale University Press, 1989
EPSTEIN, S.; Inclusion : the politics of difference in medical research, University of Chicago Press, 2007
FITZPATRICK M. ; The Tyranny of Health. Doctors and the Regulation of Lifestyle, Routledge, 2001
SERRA, H.; Médicos e poder : transplantação hepática e tecnocracias, Almedina, 2008
SZASZ, T.S.; The medicalization of everyday life : selected essays, Syracuse Unviersity Press, 2007

Comments from the literature

In the beggining of the semester the teacher will hand in a list of the core references with some guidelines about their contents. In the e-learning plataform students will find some materials for the course.

Teaching methods and learning activities

The teaching methods combine lecturing on the topics of the syllabus to present of the key concepts and methods of the subject area with seminar sessions based on contributions from students. Seminar sessions involve group discussions on specific topics as well as exercises to search for information. Teaching also involves follow-up tutorial sessions, individual and collective, to monitor the fieldwork that all students have to perform and which culminates in the presentation of an end-of-term essay.

keywords

Social sciences > Sociology > Societal behaviour
Social sciences > Sociology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	50,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	78,00
Frequência das aulas	54,00
Trabalho de investigação	30,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

The assessment of students includes the following elements, each with a weight given in brackets: a written essay on a topic suggested by the teacher, to be submitted at the end of the semester (50%); participation in the debates throughout the semester, to be held on the Moodle platform UP (40%); attendance (10%). In order to pass, students must submit all the above assessment elements.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final grade is calculated as follows: written essay with a weight of 50%; participation in debates with a weight of 40%; class attendance with a weight of 10%. Students that are not expected to attend classes will have their final grade calculated with a weight of 50% for the participation in debates.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Internship work/project

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students that are not expected to attend classes should contact the teacher in the beginning of the semester to establish the terms of their assessment.

Classification improvement

According to school regulations.