This document provides an overview of sociological perspectives on health and disease, including structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. It discusses key concepts of each theory, like functions and dysfunctions for structural functionalism, inequality and conflict for conflict theory, and symbolic communication for symbolic interactionism. The document also provides examples of how each theory can be applied and compares their main assumptions about how society operates.

1. Sociological approach
to health and disease
C. Settley

2. What is the sociological
perspective?
• The sociological perspective is a
perspective on human behavior and its
connection to society as a whole.
• It invites us to look for the connections
between the behavior of individual people
and the structures of the society in which
they live.
• Typically, we tend to think of our society
as just natural.
by C. Settley

3. What is the sociological
perspective?
Sociology is a tool towards understanding the
world.
And to confront its problems.
This means that the methods and theories of
sociology enable us to collect data for example
about how many people are there in a particular
society, how the population is distributed in terms
of age and what the main health concerns are.
Such information enables the authorities to plan for
appropriate healthcare provision.
by C. Settley

4. What is the sociological
perspective?
Now, we have said that: Sociology can be
defined as the study of human social life.
Think about the following questions:
- How has society shaped you?
- What institutions have formed you?
- How have these institutions formed who
you are?
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5. • An important statement to think about is:
‘We are the products of our environment’.
- Our environment influence the way we think and
how we act.
What is the sociological
perspective? (Pretorius, 2)
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6. Establishing patterns
• The sociological perspective aims to do
more than describe events in society.
• Hence sociologists attempt to establish
generalisations
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7. Example: Different occupations
• Instead of classifying occupations,
sociologists have come to realise that one
can identify groups of people who do more
or less the same kind of work for which
they are paid more or less
similarly….(Social class!)
by C. Settley

8. Example continued
• See stores below:
• Casual employees
• Fruit ails employees
• Dry foods employees
• Wine section employees
• Furniture employees
• Appliances employees
• Floor Managers employees
• Store managers employees
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9. Establishing patterns continued
• Sociologists interested in health and illness
could investigate the incidence and prevalence
of illnesses among different classes.
• They would then further be able to make
generalisations about the relationship between
health and society, such as the rate of death rate
of people from the working class is consistently
higher than that of people from the professional
class, e.g. doctors, lawyers and business
people.
by C. Settley

10. Main sociological theories
• What is a theory?
• - comprises a set of interrelated concepts, definitions and
propositions
• - presents a systemic view of phenomena by specifying relations
among variables
• - aims to explain and predict these phenomena
• Theories are considered practical and useful because they:
• - enable a better understanding of human social behavior
• - allow us to make predictions about future behavior and events
• - assist us in making suggestions for interventions or change
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11. Structural functionalism-
page 11 in Pretoruis
• A Systems approach
• Society is a system that operates like a living organism (the
body) and consists of interrelated and interdependent parts
or subsystems such as families, education, religions, politics
and economy (organs)
• Each subsystem functions to maintain a healthy society
• So, the subsystem of the family is dependent upon the
subsystem of education to prepare the children for jobs in
order to support their own families
• Society work together to produce order, stability, productivity
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12. Structural functionalism-
page 11 in Pretoruis
• A tendency towards equilibrium
• By means of socialization
• Values and norms are being internalized by members of the
society
• Values and norms become part of their nature
• Act according to the rules and expectations of the particular
society
• Aim of socialization is to reach consensus/cohesion. ‘the
glues that holds the society together’
• When Social change occurs rapidly, society becomes unsure
of the social norms.
• Societies have various social control mechanisms- informal
and formal sanctions
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13. Structural functionalism-
page 11 in Pretoruis
• Functions
• 1) Manifest functions- intentional, planned and obvious
• 2) Latent functions- unintended , not obvious and
unrecognized
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14. Structural functionalism-
page 11 in Pretoruis
• Strengths of Structural Functionalism:
• 1) There is a general consensus about the values and
norms of society by the majority e.g. wealth is good,
murder is bad.
• 2) Society is made up of integrated parts that are tied
together, thus if something is wrong with one it will effect
the others. (It functions like the organs of our body). These
parts in society are the institutions of our society e.g.
family, school, economy, justice system, etc.
• 3) Society tends to seek stability and avoid conflict.
Conflict is seen as dysfunctional.
by C. Settley

15. Structural functionalism-
page 11 in Pretoruis
• Weaknesses of Structural Functionalism:
• They do not see anything wrong with inequality in a
society based on class, gender or race.
• Is not open to social change
• Does not look at the causes (root) of social
problems
• Less concerned with the ways in which individuals
are able to control their own destiny.
• Tend to over-emphasise the harmonious nature of
society. by C. Settley

16. Conflict theory
page 16 in Pretoruis
• Conflict theory is a prominent sociological
theory that is often contrasted with structural
functionalism.
• It tries to address the shortcoming of
structural functionalism.
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17. Conflict theory
page 16 in Pretoruis
• When conflict theorists look at society, they do not
see a system striving for equilibrium, but rather a
system characterised by inequality and a constant
struggle and conflict over resources.
• One of the basic assumptions of this theory is that
competition rather than consensus is characteristics
of human relationships.
• Society is made up of individuals competing for
limited resources, such as anti-retroviral medicine,
money, leisure, etc.
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18. Conflict theory
• Strengths of Conflict theory:
• Able to explain social change in society
• Views society from the perspective of the
underdog, the underprivileged.
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19. Conflict theory
• Weaknesses of Conflict theory:
• Focus on conflict results in downplaying or overlooking
the elements of society that different groups and
individuals share.
• It overlooks the stability of society.
• It has an overly negative view of society.
• It emphasizes on inequality has led some critics to
argue that it is a perspective motivated by a particular
political agenda
by C. Settley

20. Symbolic theory
pg 18 in Pretoruis
• Aims to understand the relationship between
individuals and society.
• It focuses on the subjective aspects of social
life, rather than objective aspects of social
life.
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21. Symbolic theory
• A Symbol is something used to represent or stand for
something else.
• Wedding- wedding bands, cake, church, etc.
• People attach meaning to symbols, such as language,
dress and gesture and then act according to their
subjective interpretation of it.
• Conversation is an interaction of symbols between
individuals, words being the predominant ones.
by C. Settley

22. Comparison of theoretical
perspectives
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
KEY CONCEPTS MAIN ASSUMPTIONS
Structural functionalism Manifest and latent
functions
Dysfunctions overlooked
Social stability
Social institutions are
structured to maintain
stability and order in
society
Conflict theory Power
Inequality
Conflict
Dominance
The various institutions
in society promote
inequality and conflict
among groups of people
Symbolic interactionism Symbolic communication
Social interaction
Subjective meaning
Society is structured and
maintained through
everyday interactions
and people’s subjective
definitions of their worlds
by C. Settley

23. Applying the theoretical
perspectives
• All 3 theories have positive and negative characteristics.
• Meaning that one or more perspective has to be used at
times to understand a particular phenomenon.
• Read page 22 in Pretoruis et al.
• Sociological approaches are differentiated by the level of
analysis. Macrosociology involves the study of
widespread social processes . Microsociology involves
the study of people at a more interpersonal level, as in
face-to-face interactions.
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24. • Watch videos
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25. References
• Du Toit, D. & le Roux, E. (2014). Nursing
sociology. 5th ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
• Source: Data from World Bank. (2009). World
development report 2009. Washington, DC:
Author.
• Pretorius, E., Matebesi, Z. & Ackerman, L. 2013.
Juta’s Sociology for Healthcare Providers. South
Africa: Juta and Company.
by C. Settley