What contribution does Parsons’ concept of a sick role make to our understanding of sickness in society? What are the weaknesses of that concept?

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Assignment 04

HE320 Medical Sociology

Directions: Be sure to make an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be three (3) to six (6) pages in length; refer to the “Assignment Format” page for specific format requirements.

In Lessons 1-4 you have learned a great deal of information on theoretical explanations of the sociology of health, illness, and health care. This written assignment will allow you to provide practical application of concepts learned from Lessons 1-4. This written assignment contains two parts. In the first part, you will combine the questions presented for lessons 1-4. Please see list of questions below and provide responses:

Part I

Lesson 1

Please answer the following question in 250 words or more.

What contribution does Parsons’ concept of a sick role make to our understanding of sickness in society? What are the weaknesses of that concept?

Lesson 2

In 250 words or more, answering the following essay question:

Ethnicity affects individuals’ health in many different ways. Compare the effect of ethnicity on health for two ethnic groups (of your choice), summarizing and explaining the similarities and differences between them.

Lesson 3

In 250 words or more, please answer the following question:

Why has HIV/AIDS spread more rapidly in Africa than in the United States? Why has heterosexual transmission played a greater role in Africa?

Lesson 4

Please answer the following question in 250 words or more.

Critique the medical model of mental illness, using evidence from the reading material from lesson 4.

Part II

For part two of the assignment, you are asked to find a newspaper article or peer-reviewed journal article related to material covered in class or in the text and provide a written analysis of the article that explores a medical sociological aspect of the ideas or events depicted within the article. Within your written analysis, you need to identify one of the first four course learning objectives presented in the course and explain how this learning objective relates to the article selected. When selecting your article, please make sure the article identifies one of the subjects discussed within lessons one through four. Response should be a minimum of two pages long, submitted according to APA guidelines with applicable reference page and title page (title page and reference page not included in page count).

The four course learning objectives are provided below:

1. Identify and explore the socio-cultural aspects of health and illness, specifically as relating to the definitions of health, illness, behavior, and social epidemiology.

2. Describe and examine the social causes of disease and illness and vaccinations due to race, clan, and ethnicity.

3. Explore the health professions and health institutions from the broader perspectives provided by theory and research in the sociology of occupations and complex organizations.

4. Identify the forces within the health care field and society as a whole that leads to increased government participation in the delivery of health care including the nature of health maintenance organizations and managed care.

Grading Rubric

Please refer to the rubric on the next page for the grading criteria for this assignment.

 

CATEGORYExemplarySatisfactoryUnsatisfactoryUnacceptable

40 points30 points20 points10 points

Student provides all four

question responses and

demonstrates critical thought

and analysis through

explaining the connection

between questions and

overall course concepts.

Student provides all four

question responses and only

demonstrates surface level

of analysis of connection

between questions and

course objectives.

Student provides only 2-3

question responses and does

not demonstrate critical

thought or analysis in the

connection between

questions and course

objectives

Student provides less than 2

question responses and does

not demonstrate any critical

analysis or thought in the

assignment

15 points12 points8 points 5 points

Student chooses an article

that relates to one of the

learning objectives and

article is an appropriate and

scholarly source.

Student chooses an article

relates to one of the learning

objectives and provides a

surface level explanation of

connection.

Student chooses an article

that does not relate to any of

the learning objectives and

does not explain connection.

Student chooses a non

scholarly article

20 points15 points10 points5 points

Student explains concepts

within article and provides

higher order reasoning to

explain the connection

between article and

objective. Substantiate

information with applicable

sources.

Student explains concepts

within article but provides a

surface level explanation

between the connection of

the article and presented

learning objective.

Substantiate information

with applicable sources

Student summarizes article

but fails to explain the

connection between article

and selected objective or

objective not identified.

Student summarizes an

article that does not relate to

any of the course objectives.

Writing not appropriate for

academic and scholarly

purpose.

10 points 8 points 5 points 2 points

Student does not make any

errors in grammar or spelling,

especially those that distract

the reader from the content.

Student makes 1-2 errors in

grammar or spelling that

distract the reader from the

content.

Student makes 3-4 errors in

grammar or spelling that

distract the reader from the

content.

Student makes more than 4

errors in grammar or spelling

that distract the reader from

the content.

15 points 12 points 8 points 5 points

The paper is written in

proper APA and

organizational format. All

sources used for quotes and

facts are credible and cited

correctly. Excellent

organization, including a

variety of thoughtful

transitions.

The paper is written in

proper format with only 1-2

errors. All sources used for

quotes and facts are credible,

and most are cited correctly.

Adequate organization

includes a variety of

appropriate transitions.

The paper is written in

proper format with only 3-5

errors. Most sources used for

quotes and facts are credible

and cited correctly. Essay is

poorly organized, but may

include a few effective

transitions.

The paper is not written in

proper format. Many sources

used for quotes and facts are

less than credible (suspect)

and/or are not cited

correctly. Essay is

disorganized and does not

include effective transitions.

Format – APA Format,

Citations,

Organization,

Transitions (15 Points)

Part I: Combine

Questions from

Lessons 1-4 into a

Single Document

Based on APA

Guidelines (40 Points)

Mechanics (10 Points)

Part II: Article

Addresses One of the

Last Four Learning

Objectives for the

Course (15 Points)

Written Analysis

Provided that Explains

the Relation Between

Article and Learning

Objective (20 Points)