- •Sociology
- •2. Speak about the stratification by gender and social status.
- •3. Explain the current situation and express your opinion on a social issue: homelessness
- •Explain the current situation and express your opinion on a social issue: drug abuse and drug-related crimes.
- •5. Explain the current situation and express your opinion on a social issue: domestic violence and child abuse.
- •6. The main social diseases and how should we cope with them
- •7. How can vaccine campaigns succeed even in the poorest countries and the remotest regions?
- •8. Do you believe that working night shifts develops cancer?
- •9. Can sociology be helpful in medicine?
- •What are the main social issues you are concerned about?
9. Can sociology be helpful in medicine?
Sociology can be useful in any sphere of life. It is a very complicated science and can be used either to explain the whole structure of society or to describe some parts of human existence. During our study at the university we have attended lectures on general sociology but we also had such courses as sociology of the family, religion, gender, education, political sociology, sociology of race and ethnic relations and so on. Sociological sciences have endless subtypes and can be limited only by sides of lives of human beings.
Among these types there is medical sociology. Medical sociology is the sociological analysis of medical organizations and institutions; the production of knowledge and selection of methods, the actions and interactions of healthcare professionals, and the social or cultural (rather than clinical or bodily) effects of medical practice. Medical sociologists are also interested in the qualitative experiences of patients, often working within the limits of public health, social work and demography to explore phenomena at the crossing of the social and clinical sciences. The field of medical sociology is usually taught as part of a wider sociology, clinical psychology or health studies.
Medicine in sociology is a social institution. As an institution medicine has its values (goals, principles, codes), structure, functions, organizational forms, symbols, statuses and roles (doctors, patients, the government etc), the system of professional stratification and the system of professional education.
What makes medical sociology important is the significant role social factors play in determining the health of individuals, groups, and the larger society. Social conditions and situations not only cause illness, but they also help prevent it.
What are the main social issues you are concerned about?
There are many problems in our world that we can call social issues. As a matter of fact sociology is dedicated to reveal social problems and to suggest their solutions.
I can’t say what are the main social issues I am concerned about because to my mind they are all very important. Some of them are: poverty, crime, domestic violence, child abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, prostitution, housing, illegal immigration and many other issues. Moreover list of social issues depends on the country you live in. For example there are massive poverty, food shortages, lack of basic hygiene, and spread of diseases in Africa or alcohol and tobacco addiction in Russia.
The main solution to these problems is not to close our eyes to them. People must become actively involved in discussing and solving the problem. We mustn’t be indifferent and apathetic because everything is possible through collective action by people.
To my mind the very nature of social problems suggests that society itself is a problem. No country has a perfect society where all are happy and where no problems exist. Perhaps the individual nature of humans prevents this, but nevertheless we should always try to find the solution and to achieve the perfection.