Theories of Health and Illness
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Theories of Health and Illness
How Conflict Theory of Health and Illness Help to Explain the High Cost of Health Care
The conflict theory of health and illness outlines how the health care system is affected by a capitalist society (Ward et al., 2019). The theory asserted that the cost of health is impacted by social stratification. The cost of health is positively correlated with the socioeconomic status of the society. Individuals associated with money and power give directives on how the healthcare system will be operated. They acquire healthcare coverage, while less-advantaged people lack access to it. Class inequalities create health disparities. The poor are thus likely to experience the high cost of health care. Also, the wealthy members of society own production factors and determine prices for medical care and other products. The prices are usually high because they intend to maximize profits. Eventually, the cost of services like healthcare becomes high to the extent that low-income households cannot afford medication.
Functionality Theory
Functionalism theory is more accurate in explaining the problem of affordable healthcare in the US. The theory considers how illness and health impact the social order and healthcare providers’ and patients’ roles. According to the theory, social institutions act as complex social forces that usually encourage stable behavior patterns experienced within society. Examples of such institutions are family, religion, and education. The theory argues that medicine is a critical social institution in society. The theory also explains how health and illness impact the social order in a society.
Therefore, the theory is best in explaining affordable healthcare in the United States because it explains the health disparities in the social order and the overall economic and social impacts on the community. Affordable care is necessary for the country because it ensures that low-income earners are healthy and able to work and offer their dependents basic needs. For a society to stabilize, individuals must be healthy so that they can work. Therefore, there is a need for affordable care for the country’s citizens so that low-income earners can access medication.
Reference
Ward, K., Gott, M., & Hoare, K. (2019), September). Mastering treatment for Sleep Apnoea: The Grounded Theory of Bargaining and Balancing Life with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in the Context of Decisional Conflict and Change Theories . In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 20(3),23-27. https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/3137/4442