7.6 Going Deeper
Elizabeth B. Pearce
Now that you have read about the complexities of health, health care, and health insurance, this page has some more resources for you.
First, there are some thought-provoking resources that the authors used but could not fit into the chapter. If there was something that really piqued your interest and made you want to learn more, it may be listed in this table or in the following activity. This is also a resource for students who may have an assignment to research a particular topic or who need to identify a topic for a final project. Scan through “Want to Learn More?” if you are interested.
Next, you will see a set of reflective questions. You may be assigned these questions as a chapter review, or perhaps you will be using them as discussion questions in class. These questions are designed to help you apply the chapter concepts, develop your sociological imagination, reflect, and use an equity lens. Look over the “Reflective Questions” if you’d like to explore your own thinking more thoroughly.
After that, you will see the same list of key terms that appeared at the start of the chapter. They may help you with your additional exploration or research.
Finally, some chapters include activities that the instructor may use in the classroom.
Want to Learn More?
- To read more about the social determinants of health model, consult Healthy People 2030.
- To read more about the relationship between physical and mental health, check out this brief article from PsychCentral here.
- In 2017, The Lancet published a comprehensive series about inequality and health care in the United States. The Table of Contents for the series is linked here; although it is free, you will need to log in to read the series of articles.
- To learn more about the AAP’s recommendations for treating child obesity:
- What are the 10 essential health benefits mandated by the ACA? Anyone who buys health care via the health care exchange is entitled to these benefits.
- For more on sleep disparities, review this study.
- For greater detail on adults aged 18 to 64 who are uninsured, review this 2019 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Reflective Questions
- How do socially constructed ideas affect health?
- What is the advantage of understanding disparities related to social characteristics (race, gender, etc.)?
- Why are people with mental illness or abuse substance disorders less likely to get medical care and support?
- What are the challenges to all families being able to keep themselves healthy by meeting basic needs such as sleep, exercise, and a good diet?
- How does family structure affect access to health insurance and health care?
- How do geography and income levels overlap when it comes to healthy families and communities?
- What role does capitalism play in the opioid epidemic?
- If you were tasked with improving health for families in the United States, what changes would you propose?
Key Terms
- Health: the state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
- Health disparities: preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations.
- Health equity: equal access to health benefits for all people, regardless of identity.
- Health insurance: a type of insurance, paid for by the consumer or another entity, that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses.
- Mental health: a state of mind characterized by emotional well-being, behavioral adjustment, relative freedom from anxiety and disabling symptoms, and a capacity to establish relationships and cope with the ordinary demands and stresses of life.
- Mental illness: a wide range of mental health disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behavior.
- Opioid: substances that affect the neurons in our brain by blocking pain and providing a feeling of calm and euphoria.
- Stigma: a negative or discriminatory attitude toward others related to a specific characteristic or difference, often of a marginalized identity.
- United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings.
Activity: Sleep Is a Superpower
If you would like to learn some more surprising and specific health effects of sleep, watch the 19-minute TED Talk in figure 7.23 that discusses reproductive systems, memory, and cardiovascular systems.
Discussion Questions
- What did you hear in this talk that was new or surprising to you?
- What are some of the correlated health effects of losing an hour of sleep (daylight savings time) or gaining an hour of sleep?
- How does sleep affect your immune system, heart, reproductive system, or brain?
- If you are not getting enough sleep, what could you do to increase the sleep you get? What about this video might influence you to prioritize more sleep?
Licenses and Attributions for Going Deeper
Open Content, Original
“Going Deeper” by Elizabeth B. Pearce. License: CC BY 4.0.
the state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
a type of insurance, paid for by the consumer or another entity, that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses.
a systematic investigation into a particular topic, examining materials, sources, and/or behaviors.
ensuring that people have what they need in order to have a healthy, successful life that is equal to others. Different from equality in that some may receive more help than others in order to be at the same level of success.
a state of mind characterized by emotional well-being, behavioral adjustment, relative freedom from anxiety and disabling symptoms, and a capacity to establish relationships and cope with the ordinary demands and stresses of life.
the categorization of humans using observable physical or biological criteria, such as skin color, hair color or texture, facial features, etc.
a socially constructed expression of a person’s sexual identity which influences the status, roles, and norms for their behavior.
a wide range of mental health disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behavior.
substances that affect the neurons in our brain by blocking pain and providing a feeling of calm and euphoria.