Week 2: Health & Disciplinarity
Quant vs. Qual data
Qual = asso. with words & visuals
atoms < molecules < cell < tissue < organ < organ system < organism
risk calculations
risk = hazard x exposure
Describe the rise of doctors and their biomedical approach to health.
Establishing themselves as the most trustworthy providers of health by subordinating all other professions
Their profession became regulated through standard boards and expectations
steps of the scientific method
Observation, Hypothesis, Prediction, Experiment, Conclusion
classification of Sociology, political science, theatre
social sciences & humanities
difference between up/downstream determinants
up: structural
down: more personal
effect of exponential population growth on earth
depleting resources
overpopulation
increased rates of climate change
higher desease spread
Pillars of Biomedicine
1. Mind-Body Dualism
2. Physical Reductionism
3. Specific Etiology
4. Machine Metaphor
5. Regimen & Control
water access inequities still present in Canada?
indigenous communities on reserves have no clean water, heavily polluted. Clean water from stores are expensive
Health Science
vs.
Health Studies
Health Sci: based in occupational categories
Health Studies: based in social sciences and humanities; interdisciplinary
Metabolism vs. Homeostasis
metabolism: what the body does to stay alive
homeostasis: things the body does to stay within a set point/range
+ natural disaster rates
+ disease and illness
Levels of Medicalization
Explain what each level entails.
1. Conceptual
2. Institutional
3. Interactional
the max number of individuals a habitat can support. if exeeding CC, then resources depleting > replenish = go into ecological debt
"health is a state of complete __________, ___________, and ______________________, not just the absence of disease"
Biological determinants for health
genes, internal + external agency, aging
explain how greenhouse gases contribute to climate change
gases trap heat in the atmosphere
Classifications of CAM. Explain each.
1. Holism
2. Vitalism
3. Therapeutic Relationships
why are different forms of disciplinarity important in health research?
various answers.
Researchers in different fields bring different perspectives to the same issue to the table, enhancing our understanding of health from more than one viewpoint.
So we don’t take what knowledge is available for granted and focus on only one explanation of an issue.
Health is complex and requires a range of disciplines to contribute with theories, research methods, and conclusions to causes of health and illness.
Societal and systemic issues are becoming increasingly central to the cause of health problems, therefore we must investigate this through a critical lens from various angles.
power hierarchies
Every expert may reach a separate conclusion regarding the primary cause of complex problems
Lalonde report - determinants of health
human biology, lifestyle, environment, health are organizations
Environmental Epidemiology
vs.
Toxicology
EE: distribution of disease in an environment as a result of chemical pollutants
Toxicology: effects of pollutants/chemicals on biological system
Push and Pull Factors for CAM
Push: failure of Biomed system
Pull: tradition, less invasive
John has been experiencing some chest pain and has gone to the doctor for some tests. On a follow-up appointment, the doctor tells John he’s got atherosclerosis, hypertension, and angina pectoris. John has no idea what the doctor is talking about. What level of medicalization is John experiencing?
Conceptual