soc 313

soc 313

Neil Schneiderman’s article demonstrates the various attributes of preventing chronic diseases. He gives examples of Psychosocial, behavioral and biological factors that can either increase or decrease a person’s risk of developing certain diseases.  Behavioral risk factors are described as life style habits that one has control of. Examples include the amount of physical exercise one participates in, choosing to smoke tobacco and consuming alcohol in excess. Biological and Societal risk factors are not necessarily life style choices, as one cannot control their ethnicity and race or family income. Schneiderman references the term (SEP) which stands for socioeconomic position.  A person’s SEP is determined by variables such as income, education and occupation. Studies show that the higher a person’s SEP is, the better the health outcome will be. One example he gives us pertains to African Americans in the United States. Compared to whites, African Americans have an overall lower life expectancy no matter what their income level may be.  Psychosocial risk factors include depression and stress. Those patients diagnosed with HIV or Cancer whom were found to have depression had a faster disease progression and a higher mortality rate than those who coped well with stress and where not depressed. I have a family member who has been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. It is a horrible disease for both the person affected and for the family to deal with. Learning and understanding the many symptoms of the disease makes me more sensitive to others who have a mental condition because now understand that it is not something you can have complete control over even with therapy and medication.  I feel that mental illnesses can be caused by natural selection but are also related to some environmental and behavioral aspects. ReferencesAtlas, S., Matthews, J. R., Fritsvold, E., & Vinall, P. E. (2014). Social implications of chronic illness & disability. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint...

Similar Essays