6.6 Conclusion
This chapter has discussed the intersecting systems and institutions that are designed to provide health and safety in the United States. Health systems and social service systems that include the institutions that implement health and safety are all impacted by human interactions and the cultural meanings we associate with being healthy and safe. Similarly, government, which legalizes and implements health and safety is impacted by those same human interactions. Often those interactions yield unequal access, discrimination and stereotyping, and are built on a legacy of colonization. It is the negative effects of these interactions that have prompted social movements to redefine how we frame our needs around health and safety. From that re-framing we are able to construct new ways, or recall traditional ways of providing for our care and safety.
6.6.1 Review of Learning Objectives
This chapter offered you the opportunity to:
- Explain how sociologists identify the functions of government, health care, and social services in society.
- Discuss how sociologists understand the health of a society through medical sociology, and the social construction of illness.
- Illustrate how and why groups have different experiences with safety and health protections, and are impacted differently when presented with safety and health crises.
- Identify how government influences health and safety through health care and social service policy.
- Explain how historical events of European colonization shape contemporary issues around health and safety
- Discuss the role of social movements in bringing about change to health and safety in the US
6.6.2 Key Terms
community accountability: a community-based strategy, rather than a police/prison-based strategy, to address violence within our communities.
cultural markers: the shared features such as language, and common values, in a cultural group that help define the group.
democracy: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
enculturation: the gradual process of an individual or group learning and adapting to the norms and values of a culture in which they are immersed
health: the extent of a person’s physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
medical sociology: the systematic study of how humans manage issues of health and illness, disease and disorders, and healthcare for both the sick and the healthy.
people of the global majority: Black, Indigenous, and other people of color and typically (though not all) have origins in Africa, Central and South America, and Asia.
politics: the process of gaining and exercising control within a government for the purpose of setting and achieving particular goals, especially those related to the division of resources within a nation.
socialized medicine: a medical system in which the government owns and runs the heath care system
stigmatization: the labeling or spoiling of an identity, which leads to ostracism, marginalization, discrimination, and abuse.to the extent that it is criminalized.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK): the systems and knowledge of land stewardship that Indigenous peoples across the world have perfected throughout generations.
transformative justice: a political framework and approach for responding to violence, harm and abuse. At its most basic, it seeks to respond to violence without creating more violence and/or engaging in harm reduction to lessen the violence.
universal healthcare: a system that guarantees healthcare coverage for everyone.
6.6.3 Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
“Conclusion” by Aimee Samara Krouskop is licensed under CC BY 4.0.