SOC101YSOC101Y

Introduction to SociologyIntroduction to SociologyProfessor Adam GreenProfessor Adam Green

Lecture #15Lecture #15Health, Disability & AgingHealth, Disability & Aging

6 Feb 136 Feb 13

Population 65+, Canada, 1851-2050

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5

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25

1851

1871

1891

1911

1931

1951

1971

1991

1997

2001

2011

2025

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Canadian Age-Sex Pyramid, Canadian Age-Sex Pyramid, 1956-20561956-2056

Pyca2056.exe

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““A Very Short One”A Very Short One”

Jeanne Louise Calment died in 1997 at the age of 122. An interviewerasked her in 1995 what sort of future she expects. “A very short one,” she replied.

32 35 38 41 44 47 50 53 56 59 62 65 68 71 74 77 80 83 86 89

Europe 1600

Lesotho 2009

India 2009

China 2009

Russia 2009 USA 2009

Japan 2009

Canada 2009

Canada 2050

Canada 1867

Life Expectancy, Selected Countries and Life Expectancy, Selected Countries and YearsYears

Social Causes of Illness and Social Causes of Illness and DeathDeath

Human-environmental factors, such as industrial pollution

Lifestyle factors, such as smoking cigarettes, excessive use of alcohol and drugs, poor diet, lack of exercise, and social isolation.

Factors related to public health system (government-run programs that ensure clean drinking water, sewage and sanitation services, inoculation against infectious diseases, etc.) and healthcare system (clinics, hospitals and other facilities)

People with HIV/AIDS, 2009 (adult People with HIV/AIDS, 2009 (adult prevalence in parentheses)prevalence in parentheses)

Total: 33.3 million (0.8%)

Western andCentral Europe 820,000 (0.2%)

North Africa & Middle East460,000 (0.2%)

Sub-Saharan Africa22.5 million (5.0%)

Eastern Europe & Central Asia1.4 million (0.8%)

South & South-East Asia

4.1 million (0.3%)

Oceania57,000 (0.3%)

North America1.5 million

(0.5%)Caribbean240,000 (1.0%)

South & Central America 2.0 million (0.6%)

East Asia770,000 (0.1%)

Life expectancy varies positively Life expectancy varies positively with…with… a population’s average wealth

a population’s level of equalityPoor people die younger because Poor people die younger because

of…of… less access to health resources less knowledge about healthy lifestyles less ability to control stressGender inequality in health is due Gender inequality in health is due

to…to… gender bias in medical research gender bias in medical treatment women’s greater longevity women’s greater poverty

Three Sociological LessonsThree Sociological Lessons of of Shallow HalShallow Hal

The human body is not just a biological entity but a social fact because we employ cultural standards to evaluate people’s bodies

Much discrimination takes place against people whose bodies do not conform to cultural ideals

People with disabilities are in fact perfectly normal

Selected Social Causes and Selected Social Causes and Consequences of Height Consequences of Height

in Human Populationsin Human Populations

HeightProximate social causes

diet

disease

work intensity

Basic social causes

income

inequality

public health

personal hygiene

quality of environment

Social consequences

life expectancy

health

cognitive development

personality

Peter Paul RubensPeter Paul RubensCimone and Efigenia Cimone and Efigenia (1617)(1617)

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Women Men

JapanS. KoreaFranceItalyCanadaGermanyUKUSA

Percent of Adults Who are Overweight, Selected Countries, 2007

Percent

1.0% increase, 2001-07 2.3% increase, 2001-07

Note: Overweight adults have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or higher (BMI = weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres.)

Height, Weight and Social Height, Weight and Social StatusStatus

On average, high family income results in good diet; good diet increases stature;

tall people live longer, earn more, and reach the top of their profession more quickly than short people;

overweight women complete fewer months of formal education, earn less, and are less likely to marry than women who are not overweight (overweight men are less likely to marry)

Important TermsImportant Terms

impaired = deficient in physical or mental capacity compared to the norms of society

disabled = incapable of performing within the range of “normal” human activity

ablism = prejudice and discrimination against the disabled

Societal Responses to DisabilitySocietal Responses to Disability Rehabilitation involves curing disabilities

through medical and technological intervention; trying to improve the lives of the disabled by means of care, training, and education; and integrating the disabled into "normal" society.

Elimination involves killing the disabled or sterilizing them and preventing them from having offspring.

Normalization involves disabled people asserting their autonomy and the "dignity of difference."