Social Factors in Determining Health and Illness: An Essay

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO 1 Describe main theories in sociology of health and illness.

LO 2 Understand the role of the state and the professions in the management of health.

LO 3 Understand the cultural and societal influences related to the social construction of health.

LO 4 Understand the concept of the sick role and its role in the management of health and illness.

Write an essay of 1500 words (+/-10%) which answers the following question:

In what ways are social factors involved in determining:

1) the forms of ill health individuals suffer;

2) the experience of illness; 

3) the health care individuals suffering ill health receive?

• Address ALL THREE issues in your essay.
• For 1, discuss up to TWO social divisions covered in the module (e.g. gender, age, class, ethnicity, etc) in your answer.
• For 2, make sure you discuss the ‘sick role’ in your answer.
• For 3, make sure you discuss the role of the state and health care professionals in the organisation and delivery of health care in your answer.
• Use relevant concepts and theories we have covered during the module, and any which you have discovered during your research, to inform your analysis. Use real world examples or other empirical evidence to support your arguments.

Your work will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning outcomes for this assignment (see above). This assignment will be marked according to the following:

• Development of well-structured and clearly expressed argument
• Evidence of understanding of relevant concepts, and use of empirical evidence to support points
• Evidence of independent research and reading that draws on appropriate sources
• Accurate in-text referencing and reference list

Please also note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded, but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.

• You must reference all material used in each online entry and include a reference list for each online entry
• Each of your three online entries must be 1000 words (+/-10%) excluding your reference list
• State word length for each of your online entries
• You are advised to write and save each online entry as a Word document before pasting it into the online discussion area on LSST Connect. If you experience any technical difficulties, email your lecturer immediately providing a screenshot of the issues being faced.

In it you will find details of the assessment task, word count, the assessment criteria your work is marked against, and the learning outcomes – the basis for the assessment strategy in each module.

Students often lose marks by forgetting some of the more straightforward elements of their assignments. We recommend that you “tick off” each of the points below as you prepare your work for submission.

Have you read and understood the assessment criteria?

Have you met the learning outcomes? You will lose marks and your work may even be failed if you have not.

Have you demonstrated you can think and write critically in the completed work?

Have you maintained an academic tone throughout your work? Is your work formal, focused, developed and clear?

Have you checked that the referencing in your assignment is in line with your programme requirements?

Have you proof-read your work and used spellcheck software to check your spelling and grammar?

Have you checked the presentation of your work is as specified by your tutor, for example, are font size, colour, style, line spacing and margins as the tutor specified?

Have you kept to the word count (or equivalent)? If you are not sure, check with your tutor.

Can you confirm that the work submitted is your own and not plagiarised?