Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 1, 2026
07:57
A New Method for Inducing a Depression-Like Behavior in Rats
Published on: February 22, 2018
22.6K
Class, Social Suffering, and Health Consumerism
Camilla Hoffmann Merrild1, Mette Bech Risør2, Peter Vedsted1
1a Research Centre for Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care , Research Unit for General Practice, Aarhus University , Aarhus , Denmark.
Medical Anthropology
|October 13, 2015
Summary
Social class significantly impacts health care seeking behaviors and illness concerns. Higher social classes engage in health consumerism, while lower classes face barriers due to intertwined physical, political, and social discomforts.
Area of Science:
- Sociology of Health and Illness
- Medical Sociology
- Health Disparities Research
Background:
- An extensive social gradient in cancer outcomes highlights the need to understand healthcare seeking behaviors.
- Previous research focused on diagnosed cancer patients; this study examines individuals without a cancer diagnosis.
- Social class differences in healthcare seeking may contribute to disparities in cancer diagnosis and outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relevance of social class to healthcare seeking practices and illness concerns.
- To investigate how different social classes navigate healthcare systems and express health-related concerns.
- To understand the influence of social and political contexts on health-seeking behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Long-term ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in Denmark.
- Data was collected from participants in two distinct social classes: higher middle class and lower working class.
- Qualitative analysis focused on healthcare seeking practices and expressed illness concerns.
Main Results:
- Higher middle-class individuals exhibited healthcare seeking aligned with 'health consumerism' principles, readily accepted by the healthcare system.
- Lower working-class individuals' healthcare seeking was influenced by the interconnectedness of physical, political, and social dimensions of discomfort.
- These integrated discomforts presented challenges for the healthcare system's accommodation of lower working-class patients' needs.
Conclusions:
- Social class profoundly shapes individuals' approaches to healthcare seeking and their perception of illness.
- The healthcare system's structure and norms may inadvertently create barriers for certain social classes, particularly the lower working class.
- Addressing social gradients in health outcomes requires understanding and accommodating diverse healthcare seeking practices rooted in different social realities.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Concepts of Health and Illness
19.5K
Health is a condition of the body, mind, and spirit where an individual remains free from illness. Similarly, wellness is an active state, including living a lifestyle that promotes physical, mental, and emotional health. Physical health is critical for the overall well-being and can be affected by lifestyle, activity level, diet, and behavior. The highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental and universal human right. Consider Lisa, a fifteen-year-old born with congenital...
19.5K
01:41Social Traps
27.1K
Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
27.1K
01:26Social Exchange Theory
741
As formulated by John Thibaut and Harold Kelley, Social Exchange Theory explains human relationships as economic-like exchanges that maximize rewards and minimize costs. This theory suggests that individuals engage in relationships to gain benefits and reduce burdens, similar to economic transactions. It has been widely applied to various types of relationships, including romantic, professional, and social interactions.Rewards and Costs in RelationshipsRelationship rewards include emotional...
741
02:06Social Exchange Theory
40.9K
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
40.9K
01:21Dimensions of Health and Illness
12.0K
The factors influencing the health-illness continuum can be internal or external and may or may not be under conscious control. They are related to the following eight human dimensions, and each dimension is interrelated to one other.
12.0K
01:18Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
2.3K
The person's health status fluctuates continually, varying from being in good health to becoming ill and returning to being healthy. To understand the concept of illness prevention, there are two models. First, the health-illness continuum model is a graphic representation of an individual's wellness. It states that a person is considered healthy in the absence of physical disease and the presence of good emotional health.
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
2.3K