CHAPTER 14 Kasie Price, Megan Bentley

14-1 GLOBAL HEALTH AND ILLNESS Health varies among individuals and societies, but all the people experience disease. In addressing the question of why some people are healthier than others, health and medical practitioners, researchers, and sociologists examine social epidemiology, which includes both the incidence and prevalence of illness of health problems within q population during a specific time period. "Disease of Wealth" such as diabetes, heart disease, and various cancers.

14-2 HEATH AND ILLNESS IN THE UNITED STATES Many people live with a disability; others die at an earlier age then expected for a variety of Marco- and micro- level reasons. The three most important for illness and early death. Among U.S racial-ethnic groups, black babies have the highest infant mortality rate, and Latinos are the least likely to die from illicit drugs. Sexually transmitted diseases are another important source of preventable heath hazards.

14-3 HEALTH CARE: UNITED STATES AND GLOBAL Medicine is a vital part of Heath care in diagnosing, treating, and preventing illness injury and health impairments. About 14 percent of Americans have no health insurance. Since 2,000, employer-based health insurance coverage has deteriorated. Medicare pays many of the medical costs of Americans age 65 and over, regardless of income. Medicaid, another government program provides medical care for those living below the poverty line. In 2010, a Congress passed the patient protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "Obamacare." The ACA's goal is to give more Americans age 64 and under access to affordable, health insurance.

KEY TERMS Heath: the state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Social epidemiology: examines how societal factors affect the distribution of disease within a population. Health Care: the prevention, management, and treatment of illness. Disability: any physical or mental impairment that limits a person's ability to perform a basic life activity. Chronic Diseases: long-term or longtime illnesses that develop gradually or are present from birth. Acute diseases: illnesses that strike suddenly and often disappear rapidly but can cause incapacitation and sometimes death.

KEY TERMS Alzheimer's disease: a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain and impairs memory, thinking, and behavior. Substance abuse: an overindulgence in and dependence on a drug or other chemical that harms a person's physical and mental health. Medicine: a system of individuals, organization, and institutions that provide scientific diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illness, injury, and other health impairments. Sick role: a social role the that excuses people from normal obligations because of illness. Medical-industrial complex: a network of business enterprises that influence medicine and Heath care. Medicalization: a process that defines a non medical condition or behavior as an illness.