Select one of the following health issues:
Ebola spread in West Africa: The 2014 West African outbreaks were the largest and worst Ebola outbreaks in history. More than 28,000 people were infected, and over 11,000 people died before the international public health emergency ended in June 2016.
Disproportionate rates of suicide in rural Australia(in comparison to metropolitan areas): Recent data on suicide in Australia indicates that, at 15.3deaths per 100,000 people, the rate of suicide for areas outside of capital cities is over 50% higher than in capital cities.
A higher level of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (relative to non-Indigenous Australians): Aboriginal and Torres Strait people are three times more likely to have diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait lslander women are almost twice as likely to develop gestational diabetes as non- Indigenous women. There is also evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are eight times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes(traditionally considered an adult disorder) than their non-Indigenous peers.
Socio-economic status and COVID-19-related cases and deaths in the United States: Lower education levels and greater percentages of black residents are strongly associated with higher rates of both COVID-19 cases and deaths in US.
Women and sexual assault: One in five women have experienced an assault in their adult lives compared to one in twenty men.
Provide a brief overview of the health issue, including the social distribution. Why is this health issue a significant social problem?
Using the sociological imagination, analyse and describe the social origins of the health issue under investigation please apply the four parts of the sociological imagination template.
Apply at least one of the major theoretical perspectives, covered in lectures 1-6, which might best explain the extent and pattern of the health issue sociologically. Briefly describe the perspective(s), including the key concepts and focus of analysis. Use the perspective(s) to discuss what specific social phenomena likely causes the health issue. Outline the most significant limitations of your chosen perspective(s). You may just prefer one of the perspectives, or you may find that combining perspectives provides a fuller picture of the ‘how’ and/or ‘why’ the health issue exists.
Using the social model of health, propose an effective social intervention to prevent and/or address the health issue under investigation.
