Article Writing Homework Help

Each reply must be at least 250 words, and each reply must cite at least 1 source in current APA format. Acceptable sources include the textbook and scholarly articles. Please add scripture where appropriate. 

Reply # 1

Nichole Johnson

Medical care and insurance I believe are one of the biggest social problems that we have here in the United States. Mainly because every person is in need of good proper medical care no matter what race, gender, or class you are in. The concern over the cost of medical care and insurance is widespread. Many of us were excited when Obamacare rolled out hoping it would be a solution to the uninsured who seemed to fall between the cracks. Unfortunately, with high premiums and bad coverage, this put many people in worse situations than they were while uninsured. Personally, I tend to fall towards the conflict theory when it comes to medical care. It appears to be a very large business that is not taking the needs of people as a top priority. I believe it should be approached differently from the bottom up focusing on the needs of the people and how those needs could be met more efficiently.

Physical illness and mental illness are also seen as a social problem. Social researchers evaluate the physical health of society by looking at both the infant mortality rate and life expectancy. In the United States currently, the life expectancy has risen and the infant mortality rate has dropped this creates a major need for medical care (Henslin, 2018, p. 304). Mental illness is believed to be a social problem because it has increased as well. Mental illness is also believed to be the top contributing factor in suicide which is concerning to our society as a whole (Henslin, 2018, p. 308).

If you look at the issues theoretically you can use conflict theory, functionalism, and symbolic interactionism to evaluate the problems in medical care. Conflict theory also known as feminist theory believes the United States medical system is not self-correcting. They believe that the medical system is set up in a way that creates profits, and it is not about treating the patient and their best interest (Henslin, 2018, p. 314). Functionalists, on the other hand, do believe the medical system is a self-correcting system. They believe ultimately that the fee-for-service medical system will shift and adapt to the needs of the people (Henslin, 2018, p. 312). Symbolic interactionism takes a deeper look into how people determine illness and meaning, and how that ultimately affects their behavior. For example, examining the relationship between a doctor and patient (Henslin, 2018, p. 310).

References

Henslin, J. M. (2018). Social Problems, 12th Edition . New York : Pearson.

Reply # 2

Chris Culver

With the cost of medical insurance on the rise, as well as the astronomical cost of medical treatments, physical illness and mental illness have no choice but to be a social concern. With the overall population living longer, infant mortality decreasing and the cost of new and improved medical equipment, the medical business is like a train that is running full steam ahead. Physical illness’s link to social issues in ways that we really do not notice on an everyday basis. For instance, women of the United States tend to gain more weight during their pregnancies, cause more harm to their bodies, which in turn caused a greater chance of infant mortality. “The U.S -born women had gained more weight during pregnancy, were more likely to abuse drugs and had  “surgically scarred uteruses” from abortions, (Henslin, 2018, p.305). From the stand point of mental illness, just stress alone in todays society is a great example of mental illness. “That is, people who experience more stress are more likely to also experience what are known as mental problems,” (Henslin, 2018. p.307 ).

  According to our reading, doctors seem to be found in clusters around the United States. This makes it very difficult for some people to get to those doctors that they may desperately need. I believe that we need a generation of doctors that will put the small towns first. We see very few pediatricians that make their way back to the small communities that they may have come from. This would put competition back into the medical field. Once the small mom and pop doctors offices began to sell out to larger medical institutions or were squeezed out due to limited capabilities or man power in the 1960’s, the cost of health care sky rocketed. I see this in the family ownedpest control business that I own and run today. We fight to keep the prices low where we can compete all the while the larger companies try to strangle us out until we can not compete any longer or are forced to surrender to their purchase offer. 

  Symbolic interaction is the thought process of interpreting your meaning in regards to your feelings. For instance, I am in the pest control business and find myself under crawl spaces on a daily basis. I find it normal to have knee, back and neck pain. Some people that sit at a desk all day and have some of the same pains in their back and neck may not feel that these issues are normal.  Functionalism in our heath care system is the thought that our system brings the needed function and care to those in need. If I find that I can not function at a normal level on a daily basis due to a knee ailment then I will turn to a doctor that upon a certain fee will help bring me closer to normal through the means of a medical procedure. In contrast to this, the conflict theory comes into play. Many believe that due to lack of education, health, housing, wealth and medical care that those less fortunate have been abandoned from the functionality of the current health care system. I find that the current system offers too many benefits to the less fortunate and the overly fortunate. The people in the middle are left out, and are left to pay extremely high cost for their health care. 3 John 1:2 tells us, “Dear friend I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

References

Henslin, J.M. (2018). Social Problems: A down-to-earth approach. (Custom ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson