Unit 4 - Social Aspects

Life Course - A unique pattern of events and influencs which shape an individual's development and experiences between conception and death

Life Course Event - A particular, identifiable event which occurs during an individual's life span, affecting their personal development

Life Course Transition - Life course events which involve a change of state in an individual's life, resulting in a move from one phase/stage in life to another, such as leaving home

Lifestyle Choices - Decisions made by an individual about how to live: DASE (Diet, Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Exercise)

Health and Well-being - A condition of physical, mental and social well-being

Socialisation - The lifetime process of learning the ways of society

Primary Socialisation - Initial period of learning the ways of society, predominatly learnt from family

Secondary Socialisation - Later period of learning the ways of society, often learnt by school, friends, role models, work collegues

Social Processes - Shared activities and practices engaged in by people from particular socities or cultural groups

Social Structures - A relatively permanent feature of society which important aspects of social life is organised. Family is a form of social structure as the upbringing of children is organised.

Lifestyle - A way of living, focused around the attitudes, values and habits an individual adopts, influencing their patterns of social and health behaviour

Preventable Disease - Disease that can be avoided by changes in lifestyle or behaviour, or by appropriate health care treatement

Physical Inactivity - A lack of adequate healthy physical activity

Premature Death - Death which occurs before the average life span for a man or woman

Will Power - Control an individual has over their behaviour

DASE - Diet, Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Exercise

Diet - The food choices an individual makes and the amounts eaten each day. Obesity is now becoming more common, the most common cause of type II diabetes.

Alcohol - Moderate and controlled use of alcohol is acceptable. Alcohol consumption becomes a problem once an individual begins to consume over the recommended daily allowence regualary

Substance Abuse - Following the appropriate medical instructions of prescribed drugs, it becomes substance abuse once these barriers are broken and illegal drugs also are consumed

Exercise - Physical activity has declined over the last few years, if individuals do not engage in a active lifestyle, and begin to live a sedentary lifestyle it can increase the risk of developing disease and suffering from premature death

Events which occur at particular, socially expected points in our life lifespan

• Starting school
  
• Marriage

• Employment

• Death/Bereavement

Events which aren't expected and individuals are often unable to plan for

• Serious illness

• Relationship breakdown

• Accidents

• Loss of job/being made redundant

• Moving home

• Promotion/demotion

• Financial difficulties

Social Class - A group of people who are similar in terms of wealth and income and are likely to be in occupations with similar levels of social status

Health Inequality - Unequal distribution of health outcomes across the population

Social Inequality - Unequal distribution of opportunities and resources in society

Morbidity Rates - Illness rates

Mortality Rates - Death rates

Poverty - A lack of resources, usually financial

Absolute Poverty - Below the absolute minimum of what is needed in order to survive in society

Relative Poverty - Lack the minimum amount of income in order to amount to the average standard of living in the society they are in

Income Distribution - The way that income is spread throughout society

Inverse Care Law - The greater a poor service user's medical need, the less likely it is to be met

CVB - A range of care values which care practitioners apply in their work, based on the beliefs about the correct way to treat a service user

• Promoting anti-discriminatory practice

• Maintaining confidentiality

• Repecting and acknowledging individual's personal beliefs and identity

• Promoting effective communication and relationships

• Providing individualised care

• Promoting and supporting dignity, independence and safety

Self - Concept - An individual's view of themselves, or perception of 'who they are' - physical

Self - Esteem - The sense of worth or value that a person attributes to themselves, their skills and abilities - emotional

Self - Worth - Value or worth as a person, your own self - respect

Empowerment - The process of enabling, authorising or giving power