Course Title: Social and Behavioural

Science
Course Code: GST 115
Placement: First Year (First
Semester)
Duration:30 Hours Lecture
Credit Unit: 3
 Introduction: Sociology in Nursing and
Sociology of Nursing
• All human beings are social products because we live together as members
of a society which may be a family, village, school or community. All
members of such a society do certain things mostly as a result of the
influence of various social forces or social institutions (Onah,2012). In other
words people exhibit behaviours that tend to conform to the various social
forces surrounding them. For instance a child might be interested in
schooling to become a nurse or he is stimulated by the smart dresses of
nurses or because government makes nursing education free.

• Sociology is the study of social life, social change and the social causes and
consequences of human behavior. Sociology derives its name from
combination of two words of Greek origins-Socio (Greek) which means
society and Logy (Latin) which means study. Sociology therefore, is the
scientific study of society including patterns of social relationships, social
interaction and culture.
• Early writers of this subject defined sociology differently with similar
ideas and actions of human beings who makes up and drives the
society. According to August comte,“ Sociology is the study of social
action,” while Max Weber states that “Sociology is the study of social
facts of collective behavior” and Park & Burgess talks in terms of
social institutions”. Several other authors such as Kingsley Davis,
Herbert Spencer, Karl marx views sociology differently. However, in
all their different views sociologists are interested in investigating the
structure of groups, organizations and societies and how group interact
within these contexts. Since all human behavior is social, the subject
matter of sociology ranges from;

• Intimate family to the hostile mob,

• Organized crimes to religious cults
• The division of race, gender to the shared belief of a common culture.
• The sociology of work to the sociology of sports.
• In facts, few fields have such broad scope and relevance for research,
theory and application of knowledge.
• Sociology is one the social sciences that attempt to explain and the
behavior of human beings in a society. Sociologists study diverse
range of topics such issues of ethnic conflict, war, poverty, science,
health, drug use, the law, religion, migration, death, colonialism,
marriage, family, divorce, humour etc.

• Sociologists understands social inequalities, patterns of behavior,

forces for social change and resistance and how social systems
work. Sociology therefore is an exciting discipline with expanding
opportunities for a wide range of career paths.

• Relevance of Sociology in Nursing

• The relationship between sociology and nursing covers a couple of
important aspects which helps nurses to integrate key sociological
theories to their practice. Sociology of Nursing concentrates on the
sociological factors that evolve in the practice of nursing such as
nurse’s job concern or revenue problems that are generally
characteristics in the area of nursing.
 Sociology of nursing concerns specific human
interaction between;

• Nurses and patients,

• Nurses along with other healthcare participants,
• In addition to nurses and individuals outsides the health care system like
the relatives of the patients.

• Sociology is a field of science that concerns itself with social behavior.

The origins and the development of a particular society takes its cue from
the study of sociology. If a nurse has at least an understanding of these
social processes, that nurse might be able to conduct a patient assessment
in a more circumspect way. Nurses interact with a lot of people. And the
demographics knowledge of the population is quite diversified. This is
where knowledge of sociology comes in. If a nurse has a comprehensive
know-how on certain sociological issues, that would make his or her work
a notch higher than a mere auxiliary to a doctor.
• Nurses provide care to their patients. Providing care is not so much about giving
them what they need, it is about knowing what to do with what kind of patient they
have. They can only do that by having a clear grasp of their sociological
backgrounds.

• Nursing is a health profession that focuses on the care of individuals and their
families to help them recover from illness and maintain optimal heath and quality
of life. Nurses are distinct from other healthcare providers as they have a wide
scope of practice and approach to medical care.

• Nurses play an essential role in society today by being advocates for health
promotion,
• Educating the public and patients on prevention of injury and illness,
• Participating in rehabilitation and providing care and support.
• Professionalism in nursing means providing top quality care to patients, while also
upholding the values of accountability, respect, and integrity.
• Nursing is an art and a science as well as humanitarian service.
• Nursing is actively caring for the physical, mental, emotional, and social state of a
person, and their perception of their external environment.
• Personal philosophy of nursing is providing a holistic care to the patient, the family
and the society at large.
Relevance sociology to nursing
practice
• The main relevance of studying sociology in nursing is to understand human
nature. By understanding the patient’s custom and personal issues, nurses are able
to understand the concerns of their patients. This will also help them carry out their
duties as a nurse in a way that will benefit them and the patient.
• Sociology plays an important role in the area of health sciences, medicine and
nursing with the common goal of preventing illness and restoration of health. The
study of sociology is important for nurses due to the following reasons;

• Helps to understand those forces and pressures which affect patient adversely
which could be either from family pressure or from the society at large.
• It helps the nurses to understand the behaviour, conflicts, Inter Personal
Relationship (IPR), hierarchy, groups and adaptation of different people working in
hospitals.
• Through sociology, the nurse gets information about the socio cultural life of the
patient.
• Helps to understand those forces and pressures
which affect patient adversely.
• Sociology enables the nurse to study the
structure of families, community and society.
• To understand the characteristics of social
relationship, its complexities, and its impact on
health care.
• Helps in the understanding and eradication of
social problems.
• If a nurse has at least an understanding of these social
processes, that nurse might be able to conduct a patient
assessment in a more circumspect way. Nurses interact with a
lot of people. And the demographics of this crowd is quite
diversified. This is where knowledge of sociology of nursing
and sociology in nursing becomes necessary in patients care
part ways. If a nurse has a comprehensive know-how on
certain sociological issues that would make his or her work a
notch higher than a mere auxiliary to a doctor or other health
professionals in the health care industry.

• Nurses provide care to their patients. And at times, providing

care is not so much about giving them what they need, it is
about knowing what to do with what kind of patient they have.
They can only do that by having a clear grasp of their
sociological backgrounds.
 Relationship between Social Class and
Health Status
• Social class
• Sociologist use the term social stratification to describe the social system of social
standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into
ranking based on factors like wealth, education, family background and power.

• Social class is grouping of people into a set of hierarchical categories, the common being
the upper class, middle class and lower class. Membership in a social class can for
example be dependent on;

• Education,
• Wealth
• Occupation
• Income,
• And belonging to a particular subculture or social network.

• Sociologist generally posit three classes; upper working (or lower), and middle.
• Health Status
• The health status of a population can be measured by a wide range of factors;
• Birth and death rates which refers to the number of life births in a year per thousand
people. Death rate refers the number of people dying in year per thousand people.

• Life expectancy; the term life expectancy refers to number of years a person can be
expected to live. It is based on an estimate of the average age that members of a
particular population will be when they die.

• Quality of life; this is defined by world health organization as an individual’s

individuals perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value
system in which they live and in relation to their goals ,expectations standards, and
concerns. It embodies overall well-being and happiness, including to school, work
opportunities, absence of military conflicts or threats, as good physical and emotional
health. Dimensions of quality of life includes; material and living conditions (income,
consumptions and material conditions), leisure and social interactions, economic
security and physical safety, governance and basic rights, natural and living
environment, overall experience of life etc; In summary, standard indicators of
quality of life includes; wealth, employment, the, environment, physical and mental
health, education, recreation and leisure time, social belonging, religious beliefs,
safety, security and freedom.
• Morbidity from specific disease and conditions; morbidity is when you have a specific
illness or condition. Some examples of common morbidities are hearth disease, diabetes
and obesity, you can have more than one morbidity at time and this happens, and this
happens it is called comorbidity. Mortality is the number of deaths due to specific illness or
condition.

• Environmental risk factors such to health includes pollution, radiation, noise, land use
patterns or climate change

• Financial and geographical accessibility of health personnel and facilities,

• Insurance coverage and many other factors.

• While no single set of measures can completely characterize the health of a large diverse
population, the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) and other agencies
worldwide consistently have viewed life expectancy and mortality data as indicators of
overall of population health because they represent the cumulative effect of;

• Social and physical environmental factors,

• Behaviourial and genetic risk factors,

•
• Level and quality of healthcare.
• These data include the leading causes of mortality (among both
infants and the general population), and gives a full view of the
Nation’s health. Infant mortality is a particular useful measure of
health status because;

• It indicates the current health status of a population

• Reflects the overall state of maternal health as well as the quality and
accessibility of primary health care available to pregnant women and
infants.

• Health is influenced by many factors which may generally be

organized into five broad categories known as determinants of health:
• Genetics-understanding genetic factors and genetic disorders is
important in learning more about promoting health and preventing
diseases. Some genetic changes have been associated with an increase
risks of having a child with birth defect or developmental disability or
developing diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
• Behavior-Health behaviours are actions individuals take that affect their
health. They include action that lead to improved health, such as eating well
and being physically active, and actions that increases ones risk of disease
such as smoking, excessive alcohol intake, and risky sexual behavior.

• Environmental risk factors to health include pollution, radiation, noise, land

use patterns, or climate change. Environmental health is a growing area of
knowledge, continually increasing and updating the body of evidence
linking the environment to human health.

• Physical influences,
• Medical care,
• Social factors.

• Many studies demonstrates social classes can positively predict individual’s

health. The lower an individual’s socioeconomic position, the higher their
risk of poor health status, higher risk of illness and shorter life expectancy.
• Health inequalities are systematic differences in the health status of different strata of a
population group. When compared with the lower class, the upper class have longer life
spans, a better health status and less possibility of suffering from physical disability.
Similarly, higher incomes are better associated with better nutritional status, housing
conditions, medical services etc. In addition, people with higher levels of education tend
to have better health awareness and health related knowledge than those who did not go
through formal educational institutions.

• Social class has a significant impact on one’s physical health, ability to receive adequate
medical care and nutrition, and life expectancy.

• Socioeconomic status is the greatest determining factor in an individual’s level of access

to healthcare. Social determinants of health are the economic and social conditions, and
their distribution among the population, that influence individuals and group differences
in health status.

• Social determinants of health are the economic and social conditions and their
distribution among the population, that influence individual and group differences in
health status.

• Health inequality is a term used in number of countries to refer to those instances

whereby the health of two demographic groups differs despite comparative access to
healthcare services.