Sociology Chapter 12: Health Disparities

HIV can be spread through penetrative sex, blood transfusions, sharing contaminated needles, and from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

A serious condition that weakens the immune system, making the body vulnerable to infections and certain cancers. It is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

The total number of people living with HIV. It reflects the cumulative number of people who have acquired HIV since the start of the epidemic.

The number of new HIV infections occurring in a given period.

Behaviors and situations that increase the chances of acquiring HIV. These include unprotected sex, sharing needles, and mother-to-child transmission.

Strategies and interventions designed to reduce the risk of HIV infection. These include abstinence, safer sex practices, needle exchange programs, and antiretroviral medications like PrEP.

Negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors directed towards people living with HIV/AIDS, often based on fear, misinformation, and prejudice.

Initially, HIV was more prevalent among gay men due to factors such as the lack of awareness about transmission methods and protection. However, with education and behavioral changes, the prevalence among other populations has increased.

A significant increase in the number of people imprisoned, particularly in the United States, since the 1970s. This trend is often linked to stricter drug laws and increased police presence.

This perspective views mass incarceration as a result of social and political factors, rather than inherent criminality. It highlights how policies, media, and legal changes contribute to the expansion of prison populations.

This perspective argues that mass incarceration serves manifest functions, like public safety, and latent functions, such as political disenfranchisement and collateral consequences for individuals released from prison.

This perspective emphasizes power imbalances and discrimination. It highlights how the criminal justice system is used to control marginalized groups, often through monetary sanctions, and that racial disparities reflect systemic bias.

Factors that influence health outcomes beyond biology, including access to healthcare, education, economic stability, social and community context, and the built environment.

A statistical measure used to assess income inequality within a society. A Gini coefficient of 0 indicates perfect equality, while 1 indicates perfect inequality.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is viewed as a social problem due to its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, highlighting social factors driving its spread, including stigma, lack of access to healthcare, and socioeconomic inequality.

In 2013, an estimated 47,352 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States. Also, 26,688 people were diagnosed with AIDS, bringing the total number of people diagnosed with AIDS to 1,194,039.

In 2023, approximately 39.9 million people worldwide are living with HIV. The median prevalence among adults aged 15-49 years old is 0.8%.

HIV prevalence is disproportionately higher among certain groups globally due to various factors like marginalization, discrimination, and in some cases criminalization. For example, young women and girls aged 15 to 24 in East and Southern Africa have a higher prevalence, as do gay men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, transgender people, and incarcerated individuals.

Sub-Saharan Africa represents a significant portion of the global HIV epidemic, with a total of 50 countries, 47 of which are considered World Bank borrowing countries. This region has the highest prevalence rates.

In 1993, the definition of AIDS was expanded to include HIV-positive individuals with certain conditions like severe immunosuppression, pulmonary tuberculosis, recurrent pneumonia, and invasive cervical cancer. This change led to an 111% increase in the number of AIDS diagnoses.

An estimated 13,712 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in the United States in 2012. Overall, an estimated 658,507 people with an AIDS diagnosis have died in the US.

It is important to note that deaths of individuals with an AIDS diagnosis can be due to any cause. The death may or may not be directly related to AIDS complications.

In 2023, an estimated 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV, while the US population is approximately 334.9 million.

The process by which societies define and understand health conditions, shaping how they are perceived, addressed, and responded to.

The negative social perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors directed at individuals or groups associated with certain diseases, often impacting their access to healthcare and social support.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is recognized as a social problem due to its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, highlighting social factors that drive its spread, such as stigma, lack of access to healthcare, and socioeconomic inequality.

Collective actions by groups motivated by shared concerns about a particular disease, aiming to raise awareness, advocate for change, and improve access to care and resources.

Societal structures, including healthcare systems, socioeconomic inequalities, and access to resources, play a significant role in shaping disease spread and outcomes.

Examines how individuals and groups interpret and define disease through social interactions, shaping their understanding, attitudes, and behaviors towards it.

Focuses on power imbalances and inequalities in how diseases affect different groups, highlighting potential conflicts and tensions in social response.

Examines how societies define and understand social problems, including who has the power to shape these understandings and how these definitions influence policy and action.

A CD4 cell count below 200 cells per cubic millimeter indicates AIDS. At this point, the immune system is severely compromised, making individuals highly susceptible to AIDS-defining illnesses.

These are serious illnesses that occur in individuals with AIDS because their immune systems are severely weakened. Examples include Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), and tuberculosis.

This concept emphasizes how social factors like poverty, discrimination, and access to healthcare influence the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS. It recognizes that these factors contribute to health disparities across different groups.

Discrimination, particularly based on race, gender, or sexual orientation, has a significant impact on health. It leads to increased stress, reduced access to healthcare, and poorer health outcomes.

Researchers face challenges in quantifying discrimination's impact on health. Perceived discrimination, whether acute or chronic, is subjective and needs to be accurately measured over the life course.

Researchers aim to identify specific mechanisms through which discrimination affects health. These might include heightened stress, reduced access to healthcare, and social isolation.

This concept describes how disadvantages accumulate over a person's life, leading to greater vulnerability to poor health outcomes. It highlights the long-term consequences of social inequalities.

The idea that social problems aren't inherent, but rather defined and shaped by social factors, like beliefs, values, and power dynamics.

Views society as a system with interconnected parts (institutions, roles, values) that work together to maintain stability. Problems arise when a part fails to function properly.

Focuses on power struggles and inequalities in society. These inequalities create conflict and social problems, as groups compete for resources and influence.

Explains how social problems arise when individuals are pressured to achieve societal goals (e.g., success), but lack legitimate means to reach them. This can lead to deviance and crime.