87779 - Welfare And Sociology Of Health In Eastern Europe

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to: 1. to analyse the main components of the social governance systems of East European countries; 2. to recognise the social factors of a governance approach; 3. to analyse the role played by social inequalities in connection to health status; 4. to illustrate the main sociological and anthropological theories about health and well-being; 5. to describe the main differences between the social governance systems of East European countries and their historical roots.

Course contents

HAND-OUT 1

OBJECTIVE: Course Introduction

The main topics that will be discussed in the module 2 are:

1. Social inequalities in connection to health and well-being;

2. Medical sociological concepts applied to the East European countries;

3. Social factors related to health and illness, with a special focus on Eastern Europe;

HAND-OUT 2

OBESITY AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: PREVALENCE AND POSSIBLE CAUSES

Obesity

1. Sociological theories of obesity

2. Obesity in Eastern Europe (Knai et al)

Alcoholism

1. Making sense of drinking: the role played by social factors (Popova et al)

2. Alcohol consumption among women and men (Hinote et al)

HAND-OUT 3

OBJECTIVE: PUBLIC HEALTH AND GENDER ISSUES WITHIN EASTERN PERSPECTIVES

Theoretical perspectives in gender studies: e.g. Lindsey

1. Sociological Theories

2. Gender Studies in Post-Soviet Society (Temkina, Zdravomyslova)

3. Health and Intersections

HAND-OUT 4

OBJECTIVE: RISK SOCIETY IN EASTERN EUROPE

What is risk?

1. Explanation:

a. Understanding the difference between risk and danger: e.g. Luhmann

2. Social contexts and responses to risks:

a. The risk society perspective: e.g. Beck, Giddens

b. Sociological theories on air pollution

Case studies:

Chernobyl

HAND-OUT 5

OBJECTIVE: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN HEALTHCARE. SOME EXAMPLES FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Governance vs Government: e.g. Osborne 2007

1. Co-creation and co-production: e.g. Voorberg

2. Co-Production and Health Care System: e.g. Batalden et al.

The process of co-creation in Eastern Europe:

1. Changing health service delivery

2. Development of citizen participation in Eastern Europe: e.g. Guasti

Case studies

The inclusive society: the Estonian case

HAND-OUT 6

SEMINAR WITH A KEYNOTE SPEAKER

OBJECTIVE: Environmental and social changes: from economic transitions to air quality consequences in Poland

HAND-OUT 7

OBJECTIVE: POPULATION AGING IN EASTERN EUROPE

A sociology of aging

1. The “grey tsunami”

2. Health and Aging

Population ageing in Eastern Europe: e.g. Botev

1. Demographic Determinants of Population Aging in Eastern Europe: Gavrilov

Case studies

Recent demographic changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina

HAND-OUT 8

OBJECTIVE: DIGITAL HEALTH

Critical digital health studies: e.g. Lupton

1. Political-economy approach: e.g. Illich, Conrad

2. Sociomaterialism: e.g. Mol

3. The role of power: e.g. Foucault

4. The phenomenology of embodiment

5. Surveillance and privacy

The digitized health citizens

1. Health-care revolution in Eastern Europe

Case studies:

E-health in Russia

Telehealth and Telenursing in Poland

OBJECTIVE: STUDENTS’ PRESENTATION

Readings/Bibliography

Knai C., Suhrcke M., Lobstein T., (2007), Obesity in Eastern Europe: An overview of its health and economic implications, Economics and Human Biology 5, 392–408.

Brian Philip Hinote, William C. Cockerham, Pamela Abbott (2009), The specter of post-communism: Women and alcohol in eight post-Soviet states, Social Science & Medicine 68: 1254–1262

Brian P. Hinote and Gretchen R. Webber (2012), Drinking toward Manhood: Masculinity and Alcohol in the Former USSR, Men and Masculinities 15(3) 292-310

Lindsey L. (1990), Gender Roles: a sociological perspective, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, chapter 1 (pp. 1-13).

Temkina A, Zdravomyslova E (2003), Gender studies in post-soviet society: western frames and cultural differences, Studies in East European Thought 55: 51–61.

Borozdina E, Rotkirch A, Temkina A, Zdravomyslova E, (2016) Using maternity capital: Citizen distrust of Russian family policy, European Journal of Women’s Studies, 23(1) 60–75.

Cockerham W.C. et al (2017), Self-rated health and barriers to healthcare in Ukraine: The pivotal role of gender and its intersections, Communist and Post-Communist Studies 5: 53-63.

Abbott et al.(2006) Chernobyl: Living with risk and uncertainty, Health, Risk & Society, 8(2): 105 – 121

Batalden M, Batalden P, Margolis P, Seid M, Armstrong G, Opipari-Arrigan L, Hartung H, (2015), Coproduction of healthcare service, BMJ, 1–9.

Guasti P. (2016), Development of citizen participation in Central and Eastern Europe after the EU enlargement and economic crises, Communist and Post-Communist Studies 49, 219:231

Ministry of Social Affairs (2008), National Health Plan 2009-2020, pp. 1-1

Giardullo P. (2018), Non è aria. Cittadini e politiche contro l’inquinamento atmosferico.Bologna: il Mulino.

Maturo A., Moretti V. (2018), Sociological Theories on Air Pollution: Between Environmental Justice and the Risk Society Approach, in F. Capello, A.V. Gaddi (eds), Clinical Handbook of Air Pollution-Related Diseases, Springer, Berlin 603-620.

Botev N. (2012), Population ageing in Central and Eastern Europe and its demographic and social context, Eur J Ageing, 9, 69-79.

Pobric, A., & Robinson, G. M. (2015). Population ageing and low fertility: Recent demographic changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Journal of Population Research, 32(1), 23-43.

Lupton D (2018), Digital Health: Critical and Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives (Critical Approaches to Health), chapter 1

Glinkowski W, Pawłowska K, Kozłowska L. (2013) Telehealth and telenursing perception and knowledge among university students of nurs- ing in poland. Telemed J E Health, 19(7):523–529.

Avdoshin S.M., Pesotskaya E.Yu. (2016) Mobile healthcare: Perspectives in Russia. Business Informatics, no. 3 (37), pp. 38–44.

Assessment methods

Course Mechanics:

Your grade for the quarter will be based on the following course requirements:

1) Students (including auditors) are expected to participate actively in discussions.

2) Students are invited to write a short paper and give a presentation in front of the class focused on health in Central and Eastern Europe (optional)

3) Final oral examination.

All the papers and other resources such as complementary readings are available online and are regularly updated.

Office hours

See the website of Veronica Moretti