HEALTH SOCIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
 LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson a student should be able to:
 Define sociology
 Explain what a society is ,social interaction and culture
 Narrate brief historical events which led to the birth of sociology
 State what sociology study
 Enumerate the importance of sociology
 Describe some of the branches of sociology
 Explain what sociologists study
 What is sociology

 A dictionary defines sociology as the systematic study of society and

social interaction. The scientific study of society, including patterns of
social relationships, social interaction, and culture.

 The word “sociology” is derived from the Latin word socius(companion)

and the Greek word logos (study of), meaning “the study of
companionship.” While this is a starting point for the discipline,
sociology is much more complex.
 Definition Of Terms
 Social interaction-how people relate to one another
and how people influence one another's behaviour.
 Society-a large social group that shares the same
geographical territory and is the subject to the same
political authority and same cultural expectations.
 Culture - includes the group’s shared practices, values,
and beliefs.
 generally culture describes the shared behaviors and
beliefs a group of people and includes material and
nonmaterial elements..
What is sociology cont
Sociology uses many different methods to study a wide range of
subject matter and to apply these studies to real word.
Sociology can be understood as the study of society, as society
itself has a huge influence on what we do, how we think and who
we are. Sociology is essentially the study of people, by people
how people form cultures, societies, organizations, laws, beliefs,
families, religions, and all other aspects of human life.
HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY
In the 18th century, Age of Enlightenment philosophers
developed general principles that could be used to explain
social life. Thinkers such as John Locke, Voltaire, Immanuel
Kant, and Thomas Hobbes responded to what they saw as
social ills by writing on topics that they hoped would lead to
social reform. Prior to the Enlightenment, the social structure
of society had been dominated by the feudal system, which
divided the population into three classes whose status was
determined largely based on the ownership of land
 The population was restricted in its thinking by the
church, which controlled information. Any autonomous
thought which contradicted the traditional view of the
church was labelled as blasphemous, a crime for which
one could receive the death penalty.
 The proponents of the intellectual movement known as
the enlightenment, directly challenged the existing social
structure and the antiquated religious ideas that permeated
society. The early 19th century saw great changes with the
Industrial Revolution, increased mobility, and new kinds
of employment.
It was also a time of great social and political upheaval with the rise of
empires that exposed many people for the first time to societies and cultures
other than their own. Millions of people were moving into cities and many
people were turning away from their traditional religious beliefs. All the
major figures in the early years of sociology thought about the “great
transformation” from simple, preliterate societies to massive, complex,
industrial societies.
History of sociology cont
Auguste Comte is considered by many to be the father of sociology. The
term sociology was first coined in 1780 by the French essayist
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (1748–1836) in an unpublished manuscript
(Fauré et al. 1999). In 1838, the term was reinvented by Auguste Comte
(1798–1857). Comte also believed in the potential of social scientists to
work toward the betterment of society. He held the view that once
scholars identified the laws that governed society, sociologists could
address problems such as poor education and poverty (Abercrombie et
al. 2000)
Comte named the scientific study of social patterns positivism.
He believed that using scientific methods to reveal the laws by
which societies and individuals interact would usher in a new
“positivist” age of history. While the field and its terminology
have grown, sociologists still believe in the positive impact of
their work. .
WHAT SOCIOLOGISTS STUDY
Studies human society and social behaviour in a scientific manner.
Sociologist study sociel interaction and is how people relate to one
another and influence one anothers behaviour
Wright Mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological
imagination to study how society affects individuals. Seeing patterns
means that a sociologist needs to be able to identify similarities in how
social groups respond to social pressure.
 What sociologist study cont
 Sociologists study all aspects and levels of society. A society
is a group of people whose members interact, reside in a
definable area, and share a culture.
 A culture includes the group’s shared practices, values, and
beliefs.
 One sociologist might analyze video of people from different
societies as they carry on everyday conversations to study
the rules of polite conversation from different world cultures.
 Another sociologist might interview a representative sample
of people to see how texting has changed the way they
communicate.
 How Sociologists View Society
All sociologists are interested in the experiences of individuals
and how those experiences are shaped by interactions with social
groups and society as a whole. To a sociologist, the personal
decisions an individual makes do not exist in a vacuum. Cultural
patterns and social forces put pressure on people to select one
 The study of sociology aims at analyzing the
patterns of human behavior, deriving their causes
and speculating the future of the behavioral
patterns in society.

 It intends to understand the ways in which

different elements of society influence each
other, how a society is formed, how it functions,
and how it evolves.
Importance of sociology
 Studying sociology can give us a different perspective of looking at people
and the society at large. It can broaden our outlook towards different
elements of society, removing our bias against a particular gender, race, or
section of people.

 The study of sociology can help us increase our acceptance of the

differences in cultures, religions, and values. It enables us to look at these
differences objectively, thus earning a better understanding of people and
their behavior.
 Importance cont
 This exposure to different elements of society and aspects of social
behavior, expands our knowledge about the world in general.
Sociological studies involve a comparison and analysis of various
social elements, and an understanding of how they influence each
other and the society as a whole.

 The broadened perspective towards society and increased

knowledge of its functioning helps modify our attitudes.
Inportance of sociology cont.
 What is the difference between sociology of nursing to sociology in
nursing? Sociology of Nursing would address the study of nurses
themselves and how social factors or forces affect the roles of the nurse
and the evolution of the profession of nursing.
 Sociology in nursing focuses on the application of sociology tools and
theories to nursing practice and research. ( this approach focuses on theory
and concepts) An example would be the famous book by Eliot Freidson
called '' professional Dominance'' .
 Sociology in Nursing:
 This will address sociological knowledge which would help
the nurse do her or his job.
 Example gender, race and class for instancedo women who are
diabetics have a different way of dealing with their diabetes
based on their social gender roles. (this approach focuses on
applications and solving problems using sociological
knowledge) .
 The study of sociology helps nurses identify the psycho- social problems of patients,
which helps in the quality of treatment.
 Sociology helps nurses understand those forces and pressures which affect patients
adversely.
 It helps the nurses understand the behavior, conflicts. Inter personal relationships, group,
adaptation. etc, of different people working in hospital or health institutions.
 Through sociology, the nurse gets information about socio-cultural life of the patient is
important for the planning and implementation of the treatment.
 By the study of sociology, the nurses learn the technique of adjustment that can be used in
nursing.
 Sociology is needed in general to all the medical professions and
especially nursing because social conditions are sometimes
responsible for health problems.
 Sociology helps to understand the relationship between disease and
social condition.
 A patient with physical handicap should be understood in the
context of his social milieu.
 Psychological, social and vocational handicaps of the disabled
person and patients are often related with false attitudes of the
people.
 The nurse should understand the social environment of the
patient health condition.
 Sociology helps Nurses to understand the social factors which
form the barriers to treatment, rehabilitation and positive
outcome.
 Nurse to understand the importance of supportive social factors in
treating and rehabilitating the patient.
Application of Sociology in nursing

In the absence of social worker the Nurse may have to deal

with family and other problems such as housing, economics,
social, isolation and psychological disturbances of the patient.
 The sociology of health and illness, alternatively the sociology of
health and wellness, examines the interaction between society
and health.
 The objective is to see how social life affects morbidity and mortality
rate and vice versa. The sociology of health differs from medical
sociology in that this branch of sociology discusses health and illness in
relation to social institutions such as family, employment ,and school.
 Branches of sociology

 Sociology of Religion :studies the church as a social institution inquiring

into its origin, development and forms as well as into changes in its
structure and function.
 Sociology of Education :studies the objectives of the school as a social
institution, its curriculum and extracurricular activities and its relationship
to the community and its other institutions.
 Political sociology: studies the social implications of various types of
political movements and ideologies and the origin, development and
functions of the government and the state.
 Sociology of law: concerns itself with formalized social control or with
the processes whereby members of a group achieve uniformity in their
behaviour through the rules and regulations imposed upon them by
society. It inquires into the factors that bring about the formation of
regulatory systems as well as into the reasons for their adequacies and
inadequacies as a means of control.
 Social disorganization: deals with the problems of maladjustment and
malfunctioning, including problems of crime and delinquency, poverty and
dependency, population movements,
 The sociology of medicine limits its concern to the patient-
practitioner relationship and the role of health professionals in
society.
 The sociology of health and illness covers sociological
pathology (causes of disease and illness), reasons for seeking
particular types of medical aid, and patient compliance or
noncompliance with medical regimes.
 Health, or ill health, was once merely attributed to
biological or natural conditions.
 Sociologists have demonstrated that the spread of diseases
is heavily influenced by the socioeconomic status of
individuals, ethnic traditions or beliefs, and other cultural
factors.