Deck 16: Health and Medicine

Question 1

Durkheim's study of suicide rates and community came up with the paradoxical results that __________.

A) suicide rates are lower in well-integrated communities and higher in communities where there is too much integration
B) suicide rates are higher in communities with low integration and higher still in societies with high integration
C) suicide rates can be predicted by investigating integration but not at the community level
D) communities have little effect on suicide rates

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Public health initiatives, like requiring fast food restaurants to list the calories of all menu items, are an example of the __________.

A) population model of prevention
B) medical model of healing
C) corporate model of social change
D) doctor-centered model of individualized care

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The idea that people with the lowest social status in society are less healthy than those in the middle or at the higher end of social status is the __________.

A) socioeconomic gradient in health
B) population prevention model
C) social-trajectory model
D) cumulative-exposure model

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Despite paying more on healthcare in the United States, we __________.

A) have shorter life expectancies than other countries with similar levels of wealth
B) have greater access to healthcare than any other nation
C) routinely avoid using the healthcare that is available to us
D) offer healthcare to our poor at a much higher rate than other similar nations

Question 5

According to sociologists, __________ has a strong influence on the differences in life expectancy for citizens living in different countries.

A) a country's healthcare system
B) a nation's population
C) the infant mortality rate
D) the strength of a country's government

Question 6

Contemporary sociologists argue that social contexts impact our health because social contexts __________.

A) define what is normal behavior, like the acceptance of binge drinking at a party
B) provide an escape from the day-to-day rules we apply to our behaviors
C) require us to think about our health before engaging in risky behavior
D) inform us about others' health in comparison to our own

Question 7

Thomas is a professor of philosophy at State College. When he was diagnosed with skin cancer he sought out the most aggressive and cutting-edge treatments of the disease and soon found that he was cancer free. Thomas's experience demonstrates how __________.

A) education can be associated with positive health outcomes
B) working for the state results in more healthcare choices
C) newer treatments are better than older treatments for diseases
D) skin cancer is a treatable form of cancer

Question 8

The state of California passed laws banning the sale of soda in schools to shift the distribution of risk for obesity for all school-aged children. This approach to dealing with health risks is called the __________.

A) population model of prevention
B) school board health initiative
C) genetic model of prevention
D) governing approach to health risk

Question 9

One of the most powerful predictors of one's health is __________.

A) socioeconomic status
B) age
C) gender
D) occupation

Question 10

The social-trajectory model emphasizes how __________ influences what social position a person will achieve later in life.

A) suffering illness early in life
B) the family a person is born into
C) the wealth a person accumulates
D) the occupation a person holds

Question 11

Early life exposure that results in health issues in adulthood is referred to as the __________ model.

A) sensitive-period
B) cumulative-exposure
C) population prevention
D) famine consequence

Question 12

According to studies from early in the twentieth century, students who attend more years of school __________.

A) have higher survival rates as adults
B) are less likely to need hospitalization
C) are more often diagnosed with serious diseases
D) are less likely to seek medical care

Question 13

The relationships we have impact the choices we make and affect our health in three major ways; through __________, __________ and __________.

A) social influence; person-to-person contact; access to resources
B) marriage; family; networks
C) interaction; institutions, ideology
D) social forces; face-to-face communication; access to information

Question 14

Sociologist Emile Durkheim used suicide to demonstrate how __________ influence our health.

A) social forces
B) mental illnesses
C) access to institutions
D) levels of inequality

Question 15

Having access to knowledge, money, power, and social connections that can be used to avoid illness or death is the central idea behind __________.

A) fundamental social cause theory
B) SES cause theory
C) health disparities
D) the socioeconomic gradient in health

Question 16

Sophie started smoking cigarettes in her teens and continued to smoke for all of her life. Sociologists investigating how this impacts her health would be looking at the __________ model.

A) cumulative-exposure
B) sensitive-period
C) population prevention
D) famine consequence

Question 17

Frances grew up in an inner city slum where she developed asthma at a young age. Sociologists would explain her health problems by using the __________.

A) socioeconomic gradient in health
B) population prevention model
C) social-trajectory model
D) cumulative-exposure model

Question 18

Sara's friends like to go out to eat often and they frequently eat at fast food restaurants. Sara is obese and her doctor has told her she must lose weight but she has found it very difficult to make any progress. Sara's relationship with her friends is negatively impacting her weight because of __________.

A) social influences
B) access to resources
C) person-to-person contact
D) individual choices

Question 19

The shifting of the distribution of health risks that is the point of the population model of prevention is very difficult to achieve because it __________.

A) requires changing whole societies
B) is dependent on government funding
C) means convincing corporations to pay for more of their workers' healthcare
D) requires a significant attitude change of all healthcare workers

Question 20

Children born in the United States are more likely to survive their first year of life than children born in countries such as Afghanistan or Angola. Sociologists explain this difference by focusing on __________.

A) how where you live influences your health
B) how many babies are born in each country
C) what the structure of the family is in each country
D) how involved the government is in healthcare policies

Question 21

When an occupation is recognized by state agencies as possessing a kind of expertise that is self-regulated, such as physicians, these occupations have gained __________.

A) professionalism
B) autonomous control
C) association
D) public health

Question 22

Challenges to the authority of physicians have increased in contemporary society, which can be seen through increasing incidents of __________.

A) malpractice
B) incorrect diagnoses
C) patient survival rates
D) doctor shortages

Question 23

Allowing patients to communicate their needs and physicians being open and clear about treatment options, diagnoses, and potential side effects of treatment is a form of __________ that ensures patients understand their treatment and rights.

A) informed consent
B) patient-centered care
C) malpractice
D) regulation

Question 24

__________ tend to suffer from less deadly chronic diseases such as arthritis, anxiety, or depression.

A) Women
B) Men
C) Children
D) Young adults

Question 25

Jamal was very aware of the prejudice he faced at work. To cope with the situation he had begun drinking after work. Jamal's experience is an example of how __________.

A) exposure to discrimination and racism can increase stress
B) racial differences really represent class differences
C) African Americans receive a different quality of healthcare
D) class differences result in increases in stress levels

Question 26

Income and wealth in the family can result in buying more nutritious food, living in safer environments, and getting better healthcare. This has particularly positive effects for __________.

A) children
B) the elderly
C) spouses
D) the community

Question 27

After World War II the United States differed from many similar wealthy democracies in that __________.

A) the government did not take responsibility for making sure all citizens had health insurance
B) the government did not regulate physicians and their work, allowing fees to rise rapidly
C) physicians increased the use of expensive technologies for diagnosing illness
D) nursing became a subordinate profession to physicians instead of becoming an equal one

Question 28

Alexa was surprised to find that when she visited her new physician for the first time she sat down with her and just talked, asking questions about her past health issues and current situations. Alexa was experiencing __________.

A) patient-centered care
B) active care
C) community health partnerships
D) physician-driven care

Question 29

Social theorist Talcott Parsons argued in support of the medical practice that placed physicians __________.

A) in a position of authority over the patient
B) as subordinates to the patient to allow more control over treatment
C) as lab technicians running tests to treat patients
D) in a position of authority over nurses who then tended to all patient needs

Question 30

Bacteriological research shifted healthcare and the work of physicians from a model that emphasized patient-reported symptoms to a model that relied primarily on __________.

A) laboratory tests for diagnoses
B) physicians' professional opinions
C) public health officials control
D) homecare networks

Question 31

The colonial period of the eighteenth century saw most healthcare being provided by __________.

A) poorly trained local doctors, community folk healers, and religious leaders
B) merchants, community leaders, and spouses
C) members of the church, shamans, and community leaders
D) poorly trained apprentices, folk healers, and community leaders

Question 32

Eight-five percent of African Americans who have suffered from a heart attack are treated in 1,000 urban hospitals, while only 40 percent of white heart attack victims are treated in those same hospitals. This supports the theory that __________.

A) there are clear differences in the quality of healthcare that African Americans receive
B) class differences result in increases in stress
C) racial differences represent class differences
D) exposure to discrimination may increase stress

Question 33

While some believe that increases in science and medical technology were the reasons for improved general health in the twentieth century, historians and social scientists __________.

A) point to improvements in sanitation and hygiene as having a greater influence
B) argue that the developing middle class made healthcare more available to the population
C) believe that evolution allowed people to develop stronger immunities to diseases that once caused epidemics
D) theorize that changes in day-to-day habits at work, school, and other institutions had a greater influence than science

Question 34

__________ is the process where a natural human condition comes to be defined as a medical condition that needs treatment.

A) Medicalization
B) Professionalization
C) Diagnosis
D) Epidemiology

Question 35

Despite the occupation of nursing gaining professional status in the 1870s, the profession has long endured a(n) __________ in the field of healthcare.

A) subordinate status
B) overworked position
C) unregulated workplace
D) shortage of nurses

Question 36

Health can have a negative effect on an individual's income because it can __________.

A) affect a person's participation in the workforce
B) result in very high costs to the person who is ill
C) improve his or her chances for social mobility
D) make it difficult for the person to receive their paycheck

Question 37

Even after controlling for SES, African Americans have __________ white Americans.

A) worse health outcomes than
B) better health outcomes than
C) similar health outcomes to
D) better access to healthcare than

Question 38

The federal government became involved in regulating the costs of healthcare in the United States when __________.

A) Medicare and Medicaid programs were established
B) malpractice suits hit an all-time high
C) when it was found that insurance companies could no longer afford to pay people's claims
D) the AMA set standard prices for almost all medical procedures

Question 39

The reform movement responsible for supporting measures such as cleaning up street garbage and creating cleaner sources for drinking water is referred to as __________.

A) public health
B) American Medical Association
C) homeopathy
D) epidemiology

Question 40

When the person who is being treated is encouraged to be active in their health management plan we call this __________.

A) patient-centered care
B) active care
C) community health partnerships
D) physician-driven care

Question 41

Roger moved to a new city and had to find a new primary care doctor. He had great difficulty choosing because he could find no ratings or reviews about the quality of care from any of the local doctors. Roger's situation is a form of __________.

A) information asymmetry
B) the Affordable Care Act
C) purchasing cooperative
D) symmetrical information

Question 42

The ACA (Affordable Care Act) was designed to __________.

A) simplify access to private plans for people who don't have provided insurance
B) give everyone free health insurance, paid for by the government
C) allow insurance companies to regulate the cost of all insurance
D) penalize companies for not providing enough insurance

Question 43

What are the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and what is the central goal of this government program?

Question 44

A paradox of the American healthcare system is that we __________.

A) pay more for insurance and yet fewer people are covered
B) pay less for insurance and everyone is covered
C) use the government to control who gets insurance
D) will never get everyone covered no matter how much we spend

Question 45

The fact that most states will not allow nurse practitioners to work a practice that is not supervised by a physician is an example of how __________.

A) physicians and the AMA maintain expensive professional monopolies over medical practices
B) nursing boards have given up on trying to work directly with physicians
C) physician's assistants are replacing nurses in many practices
D) patients do not trust nurses alone to manage their care

Question 46

Why is the American healthcare system so resistant to change?

Question 47

It is argued that when we enter the marketplace for healthcare we have information asymmetry. Information asymmetry refers to the __________.

A) lack of available information regarding the quality of doctors and hospitals
B) fact that doctors don't give us all the information we need
C) new, patient-centered care that hospitals offer
D) insurance information that is only available to the government

Question 48

One strategy for saving costs in the American healthcare system is to decrease the use of emergency rooms visits by __________.

A) using coordinated care caseworkers
B) implementing programs that deny care to those who overuse emergency rooms
C) fully insuring everyone
D) closing many emergency rooms

Question 49

One reason for the high cost of the American healthcare system is that doctors work on a __________ basis that results in them doing more expensive tests and procedures.

A) fee for service
B) bonus and incentive
C) salary
D) government pay

Question 50

One explanation for why the healthcare system in the United States resists most attempts at change is __________. This explains how institutions that develop a particular way of working find it very difficult to reverse course.

A) path dependency
B) fee for service
C) institutional lag
D) professional monopolies

Question 51

The sheer number and variety of large organizations and corporations that are associated with the American healthcare system has also been connected to the __________.

A) resistance to change the American healthcare system
B) inability to stop physicians' monopolies of practices
C) lack of qualified doctors and nurses
D) inability of the government to control the healthcare system

Question 52

Explain the significance of medicalization, particularly in relation to women and healthcare.

Question 53

How does patient-centered care improve the healthcare experiences for patients and what needs to be done to make it a successful strategy for delivering healthcare?