CASE STUDY - EXPERIANCE OF ILLNESS AND DISABILITY - Essay Example

tion will be done on questions such as how the illness and disability affect the individual sense of self and their way of life (before and after the illness), how the society’s perception transforms about the past and present of the ailing body, and how the social relationship affects the patients’ condition. Health, or illness, was once merely attributed to biological or natural conditions. Sociologists have verified that the spread of diseases is heavily influenced by the socioeconomic status of individuals, ethnic traditions or beliefs, and other cultural factors.

There are obvious differences in pattern of health and illness across societies. The concept of health, diseases and illness varies from society to society. The social location of our peers affects the life chances; the beliefs about health and illness held by the peers shape the experiences and understanding of the later generation. The self-identity of an individual shape up his experience of illness, and the socio-cultural context affects his concept of death and dying. The behavior of the society with the patient varies with the culture.

Understanding and beliefs about health and illness vary among different groups. This variation largely depends on the social, cultural, biographical and economic context within which individual are positioned (Nettleton, 2006). In the narrative of every human life and every family, illness is a prominent character. Even if an individual does not get ill, he cannot prevent its reach into his family member’s life. Illness brings people closer in care giving. It moves people to sense the importance of life, brings hope and optimism in life, and creates confusion and doubts as well (McDaniel & Doherty, 1997).

Experiencing illness, the term refers to the ways in which the people define and perceive any interruption in their health. It is typical in medical sociology to distinguish between illness and disease. Illness refers to peoples “lay” or subjective