1. Unit 7 : P3 Explain patterns and trends in health and illness among
different social groupings.

2. Key Terms
measurement of health, e.g. morbidity rates, mortality rates, health events, disease incidence, disease prevalence, health surveillance
difficulties in measuring health
patterns and trends according to, e.g. social class, gender, ethnicity, age, locality
risk behaviour

3. Task 7
You will create a report about patterns and trends in health and illness among different social groupings.
The first thing in your report should be a section including definitions of the following:
morbidity rates,
mortality rates,
health events,
disease incidence,
disease prevalence,
health surveillance
Then use the Office of National Statistics website ( to find the current patterns and trends for each of the measurements.

4. Official Statistics
There are many sources of data for each of the key terms you just defined. When this data is collected it is analysed into patterns (e.g. age, sex, social class, ethnicity and location).
This can then enable health care workers to plan their provision to meet the needs of service users.
Groups such as MIND, Cancer Research UK and Help the Aged also collect data to provide support.

5. Difficulties in measuring health
Use page 331 of the black books and page 327 of the orange book to add to your report and include the difficulties that exist when measuring health.
You should include:
Why statistics should be treated with caution
Difficulties defining health
Seeking a doctor
Differences in diagnosis
The clinical iceberg (plus image)
Real causes of death

6. General Household Survey
Patterns and Trends
When we analyse statistical data we are able to notice patterns of health linked to:
Social class
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Geographical location
You could consider the differences in life expectancy, morbidity rate and mortality rate, and also suggest reasons for these differences. Include risk behaviour too.
Use a range of data sources to explain the patterns of health.
Black book (pg )
Orange book (pg )
ONS
Social Trends
General Household Survey
MIND
Census data

7. Task 7 : M2/D1
Choose two different social groups (gender and social class) at the end of each response for P3 you need to examine the trends found in these two social groups. (M2). Page of the black book can help. Use different sociological perspectives (artefact, natural/social selection, cultural/behavioural, materialist/structuralist) to discuss patterns and trends. The next slides may help too 
In both of your social groupings you need to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each sociological explanation given, this means to weigh up the quality of the evidence for the differences in health and wellbeing. Page 332 of the orange book offers some reliable advice. (D1).

8. Artefact explanations
Challenge the truth of statistics
Claim statistics are biased
Claim that the reasons for health differences are that older people, in lower social classes, are working in factories, while younger people work in offices
This could be the reason for patterns of employment in social classes and mortality rates

9. Natural or social selection
Based on evolutionary explanations
Claims that people who are fitter have inherited health potential and are less likely to find themselves in lower social classes
Those who are poorer slip down the social class structure
People in lower social classes are more likely to be ill, have higher infant mortality rates and lower life expectancy

10. Cultural and behavioural explanations
This is a preferred explanation by governments
Stresses that lifestyle and choices are the key to illness
There is evidence that people in lower social classes are more likely to smoke, drink heavily, eat poorly, and exercise rarely
So lifestyle change can lead to longer life expectancy
Advertising and the media can also be to blame

11. Materialist and structuralist explanations
Claims of ill health are linked to wealth and income
Shorter life expectancy and infant mortality rates are linked to wealth
Lower grade workers are more likely to get ill
It is social inequality, rather than lifestyle choices that are the key to health and illness experience