quiz 4 Flashcards

Question

COVID 19 & Sociology -- Practices

Answer 1

The current epidemic has been little recognition of local initiative. Prevention campaigns have been overwhelmingly top-down in organization and quite authoritarian in tone Urban gay environment developed safe sex stageties Ebola epidemic used same strategies as AIDS -- West African communities worked out the epidemiology of the outbreak and created prevention strategies that sustained, rather than disrupted, local ways of life

Answer 2

fear-driven rhetoric and political intimidation aimed at the apolitical search for objective science and data disdain of facts, science and public health

Answer 3

The commission also contended that it had taken “far too long” to build sufficient testing capacity as, at first, only targeted groups, such as healthcare staff, were able to get tested. Sweden embarked on a no-lockdown strategy with tighter restrictions added during later waves of the pandemic. The country had recorded around 15,000 deaths from the virus, substantially more than its Nordic neighbors who locked down quickly. the model as more business friendly, and some predicted naturally developing herd immunity would eventually slow the spread of the virus

Answer 4

In the Sociology of Deviance & Social Control, we witness the historic evolution that goes: Sin → Crime → Illness Medicalization is the process by which nonmedical problems become defined and treated as medical problems, usually in terms of illness and disorders. Conrad’s point is to understand the social underpinnings of the expansion of medical jurisdiction and the social implications of this development, so it is the viability of the designation rather than the validity of the diagnosis that is of greater sociological concern

Answer 5

Agents of Social Control Police Officer Priest Physician Judge Social factors that contributed to the process of Medicalization faith in science, rationality and progress increased prestige of the medical profession Americans’ love of individual and technological solutions The humanitarian trend Medicalization is NOT a one-way, unidirectional process. It is bi-directional. Holistic health and alternative medicine are often considered steps toward the “De-medicalization” of a condition or illness. Today, all sorts of life problems are being medicalized, or forces are working toward Medicalizing them.

Answer 6

By the 1980s, medical authority had eroded, and health policy shifted from Access to Cost control and Managed Care In the 1980s, doctors remained dominant in the process of medicalization, and were joined by Patients, Pharmaceutical Companies and Insurance Companies “Third Party Payers” are Insurance companies. Medical Markets – as a model -- include Advertising, designer drugs, and the standardization of medical services into “product lines”. SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) among most prescribed psycho-active drugs, and include Paxil and Prozac. Paxil was the beginning of the “depression market” of drugs. Diagnoses such as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) are representative of this. Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) DSM-IV recognized Social Adjustment Disorder (SAD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) as “illnesses / disorders,” leading to a new era where Medicalization begins to market diseases. Marketing diseases and then selling drugs to treat those diseases is now common in the “Post-Prozac” era. There have been backlashes against this, however. 2002 – Federal judge ordered temporary halt to Paxil ads over the claim that Paxil is not habit forming. “The case of Paxil demonstrates how pharmaceutical companies are now marketing diseases, not just drugs.” (p.19) “Ask your doctor if [x] is right for you”

Answer 7

Conrad’s discusses the Medicalization of Masculinity, as depicted in the examples of Andropause, Baldness, and Erectile Dysfunction (E.D.). This happened partially by design, partially by accident. Viagra has been biggest success ↑ Direct to Consumer (“DTC”) advertising. More of women’s life experiences are medicalized than men’s.* ↑ Sociocultural Construction of the Body as a realm of inquiry, considering the demand for products dealing with the Aging process and the body as an “artifact”. The bodily production of Testosterone naturally declines with advancing age. 1889 – endocrinologist, Charles Edouard Brown Sequard makes the connection between testosterone and aging. His findings sparked interest in medical treatments for aging within both lay & scientific communities. Researchers more interested in masculinity than femininity.

Answer 8

While Menopause includes the loss of fertility as the primary pathological event in its definition, Andropause does not include declines in fertility in its definition. ANDROPAUSE (pp. 30-31) Testosterone (T) Therapy emerged and has gained some momentum. Provides hope for men Provides media interest Provides potential profit It is estimated (in the Conrad book) that approximately 15 million American men take Testosterone supplements. However, medicine is not confident about the safety and efficacy of Testosterone therapy.

Answer 9

Losing one’s hair (going bald) – or “androgenetic alopecia” – is a normal or common bodily occurrence, and is usually a symptom of an underlying disease or condition. The male hormone dihydrotestosterone causes hair follicle to produce fine, unpigmented hair common in baldness. “Androgenetic Alopecia becomes a medical condition when hair loss is excessive.” Rogaine (p. 37) Propecia (pp.38-39) The psychological effects of baldness are one of the main justifications for treating it as a ‘disease,’ however.

Answer 10

E.D. used to be known or characterized as: Male impotence or Sexual dysfunction In 1992, Erectile Dysfunction (E.D.) was officially recognized as a Biogenic and NOT a Psychological problem. Viagra story dominates here. Before Viagra, there were other medical treatments such as penile surgery, implants, and injections. March 1998 – FDA approves Viagra (sildenafil citrate) as a treatment for E.D. Viagra was the first non-invasive medical treatment for male sexual dysfunction. With aging population (“baby-boomers”), there was (is) a natural market. According to our Conrad book, it is estimated that the prevalence of E.D. in the US affects 10 – 20 million men. The key to Viagra’s (and later Cialis’s and Levitra’s) success included: DTC advertising Focusing on sexual enhancement Focusing on E.D. In the case of Erectile Dysfunction, Viagra De-stigmatized erectile dysfunction.

Answer 11

For Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), most of the criticism has been about the overdiagnosis and treatment of middle-aged men. (Special emphasis on pp. 66-69.) In the case of ADHD, we witnessed the increasing role of Lay Groups in promoting Medicalization. The Lay promotion of adult ADHD promoted self-diagnosis, contradicted labeling theory, and blurred the lines between social control agents and deviants. Biotechnology, Consumers, and Managed Care have changed the forces behind Medicalization. It is estimated that for every dollar ($1) spent on DTC advertising the pharmaceutical industry makes $4.20 in sales. Managed Care came to dominate the US healthcare delivery system because of market-driven costs.

Answer 12

Physicians – though having lost ground to Consumers, Insurers, and the Biotech industry are still the gate-keepers of the Medicalization process. Big Pharma – the Pharmaceutical companies – are the new, major force in the process. Again, DTC has been key. Three most widely recognized drugs (p. 135): Paxil, Viagra, and Claritin. Pharmaceutical companies BOTH invest in and profit from Medicalization. Unlike the capitalist Managed Care systems, socialized medicine doesn’t require pre-approvals, doesn’t constrain doctors or patients, and frees limits on all types of care. Managed Care affects Medicalization by what they don’t cover! Managed Care has commercialized medicine and pushed profits over patient care. Medicalization in the New Millennium (pp. 142-145) – Quotes. Lifestyle Orientation arguments have included: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Anorexia Obesity Medicalization has increased and the powerful forces involved are fueling its expansion.

Answer 13

Conrad’s concerns include: over-medicalization with no end. Two Important Points: Conrad does NOT argue whether or not given problems are “really” medical. He says he doesn’t have the ability or desire to adjudicate that. Conrad’s claim is simply that these problems are not inherently medical, but have become medicalized, with significant social consequences. Conrad does NOT deny that there may be some extreme cases of problems that have a biological or physiological basis, but that does not necessarily mean that all cases of that problem have a biological basis. The benefits of Medicalization include: Harm reduction Blame reduction Increased life opportunities

Answer 14

The Pathologization of Everything Critical concern with widespread Medicalization: The transformation of many human differences into pathologies. (e.g. Gattaca) – virtually any human difference is susceptible to being considered a form of pathology, a diagnosable disorder, and subject to medical intervention. Great danger: “…transforming all difference into pathology diminishes our tolerance for and appreciation of the diversity of human life.” “One of the ironies of our culture is that no matter how much health is improved (as evidenced by decreased mortality rates, increased life expectancy, and improved health care), the reporting of health problems continues to rise.” “Americans have also come less tolerant about minor physical symptoms and uncomfortable body states and thus have become important advocates for Medicalization.” Medical Definitions of Normality Why should medicine define what’s “normal”? Is it reasonable to expect to keep erections, hair, and fertility until death? Is it reasonable that kids shouldn’t “get wound up”? Or that they should be treated with medications if they “act out” or “challenge authority”? “What is worrying … is that the pharmaceutical companies have an investment in creating these new norms in order to market their products.”

Answer 15

The Expansion of Social Medical Control Social Control (of Deviance) is necessary in functional societies. Sin- Crime- Illness. Medical Control is expanding, and so is “Medical Surveillance”. Increased monitoring of individuals can be good and/or bad. We have “ill”, “potentially ill”, and are moving to “genetic susceptibility”. Medical Control includes: therapies, medicines, surgeries, and changes in behavior, changes in body or psychic state of individuals. Social Implication of increased Medical Control: More forms of behavior are no longer deemed the responsibility of the individual. – “The Medical Excuse” Another is: “The Individualization of Social Problems”-- Where the focus is on the individual rather than the social context. Some “pockets of resistance” to Medicalization covered: The Gay Rights movement successfully pushed for the de-medicalization of homosexuality. The Disability Rights movement transformed their condition from medical problems to societal problems. According to Conrad, it is unlikely that DTC advertising will subside. In our current risk society – characterized by obsessions with insurance and security – people may not have symptoms, but still their condition may still be medicalized. The forces Medicalization – pharmaceutical companies, doctors, insurance companies, patients, etc. – do not recognize aging as inevitable and untreatable by medicine. By and large, there is not agreement among medical professionals, physicians and scientists around the world about most of the Medicalized human conditions discussed in the Conrad book.