5.3.3
Sociological Explanations
Marxist and Pluralist Explanations of Unequal Distribution of Healthcare
Marxist and Pluralist Explanations of Unequal Distribution of Healthcare
Sociologists see the unequal distribution of healthcare provision in different ways and offer different explanations. The three main explanation come from Marxist, pluralist and structuralist perspectives.
Marxist approaches
Marxist approaches
- Tudor-Hart proposes an ‘inverse care law’, whereby the most advantaged gain the most from healthcare even though the disadvantaged need it most.
- This reflects a pattern of inequality across capitalist societies.
Big business
Big business
- Marxists argue that healthcare provision supports big business, in terms of pharmaceuticals (drugs), medical technology and private healthcare at the expense of preventative methods such as health education.
Class struggle
Class struggle
- Healthcare provided via the NHS is viewed as benefitting capitalism by keeping the working classes fit enough to work while giving the impression of fairness and caring in society, disguising the inherit inequalities that capitalism creates and reinforces.
Pluralist approaches
Pluralist approaches
- The distribution and allocation of healthcare resources result from the bargaining actions of competing groups.
- Groups include, groups such as the British Medical Association, GPs, health administrators, the government, private healthcare companies and patient groups.
Structuralist Explanations of Unequal Distribution of Healthcare
Structuralist Explanations of Unequal Distribution of Healthcare
Sociologists see the unequal distribution of healthcare provision in different way and offer different explanations. The three main explanation come from Marxist, pluralist and structuralist perspectives.
Structuralist approaches
Structuralist approaches
- Structuralist approaches draw on the Marxist view of social inequality and power distribution in healthcare and structuralist notions of competing interest groups.
Distribution
Distribution
- How healthcare is distributed depends the outcome of the power struggle between three different and competing interest groups who work within the healthcare system...
Interest groups
Interest groups
- Dominant interests (the final decision-makers).
- Challenging interests (who challenge the interests of the dominant group).
- Repressed interests (whose interests are least likely to have their need met by the existing structure of the healthcare organisation).
Power structure
Power structure
- Checkland et al. argue that there is little scope for public and patient participation with the NHS structure, and patients are the least powerful group and have the least control over the allocation of healthcare.
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
Jump to other topics
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
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