Introduction

Sociology incorporates the study of humans and the society they live in, which includes their culture, social stratification, their preferences and dislikes. This also directly involves the crucial factors that affect their livelihood and normal coexistence. We realize that health of people is a very vital determinant of how they live and work to develop the society. Different societies attach different perceptions of healthcare, which is evident in their reaction to illnesses and availability of medics. Research has also proved that the lack of similar correspondence in health to different groups of people is a determinant of their race and/or social status. Besides affordability, the growth of a people will also depend on their willingness to access proper medical care and treatment where necessary. This paper focuses on the relationship of health and medicine to different societies and the people in it.

Currently, health measures taken by both medics and communities are an outcome of the evolution of the past. This is because as the society evolves, the people adjust their way of life to suit the present conditions. The factors affecting could be economic, political or social changes imposing the adjustments (Annandale, 2002). For instance, improved finances will lead to larger amounts spared for health purposes, which makes healthcare and relevant medicinal solutions easily accessible. The opposite is also true, where the economic conditions become worse. The concept of mutation is also relevant in the use of medicine to treat patients with certain health complications. Medicine used over a period of time changes as a result of the adaptations of the community. This involves the change in way of life that may make the society immune to certain treatments, thus the need to research on new ones. For instance, anti malaria drugs have been known to change. This could be because the society is more exposed to the virus till it becomes part of them.

As earlier discussed, the social status of a people greatly influences their vulnerability to specific diseases. Some illnesses are greatly viewed as a social status due to their clear disparity in the infected people (Morgan, Calhan, and Manning, 1985). People with a high social status involve in less energy consuming economic activities where they do minimal exercise. Their feeding habits are also not very healthy which may lead to diseases such as diabetes and heart attack condition. Conversely, the lower class society works harder physically to earn a living. They however may not afford the highly rated foods which research shows contain excessive fats. This explains the differences in diseases according to societal status. The medicines administered also differ in this case. Affordability of the health care also differs according to society. Though victims may suffer from similar illnesses, different medicines will be administered due to the inability of the lower class society to obtain expensive drugs. Studies by different sociologists have also proved that ethnicity is a determinant of medicine and health. An ethnic group which believes in wife inheritance is more likely to suffer from HIV/AIDS than that which places strong restrictions in such matters. This only goes as far as showing their keenness to their health and medical status.

Conclusion

It is very clear that doctors and medical institutions are social organizations. This is because they deal directly with them and the outcome of their way of life. In this case, less caution may result in more need for health care. The United States of America has received numerous recommendations that approve its comprehensive healthcare system. It explains the ability of most of its citizens to complete a significant life span. However, the disparity in affordability has gone a long way in showing the relationship between health, medicine and sociology.

Works Cited:

Annandale, Ellen. The Sociology of Health and Medicine: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002. Print.

Morgan, Myfanwy, Manning P. Nick, & Calnan Michael. Sociological Approaches to Health and Medicine. Routledge, 1985. Print.