An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

According to Davey et al (2002) illness is socially constructed whilst disease is a biologicalfact. However, when a person indicates that they are ill, they are duty bound in mostsocieties to be seen to be see ways to „cure‟ their illness. The rational way in industrialsociety of seeking this cure is to consult with a doctor, surgeon, osteopath or dentist.. Butthe earlier understandings of how to define sickness are still with us because when weclaim sickness, unless it is just a pretence, we are usually ill, and will do whatever works todeal with the pain. Humans are expected by society to engage in health seeking activities(Ewles and Simnett (2005). Whether an individual adopts the sick role for a particularcondition or not could be dependent on the cultural view of that condition.In contrast to the purely biomedical model which pictures illness as mechanicalmalfunction, Parsons (1951,1975) used ideas from psycho-analytical literature as well asMax Weber‟s (1968) work on authority to create an ideal type, which can be used to shedlight on the social forces involved in episodes of sickness. Parsons was led to explore thedoctor-patient relationship through the reading theories of transference and countertransferenceand seeing the doctor-patient relationship as similar to that of the parent andchild where the doctor has the authority of the parent and the patient has the position of thechild. However, the patient in the adult role has a responsibility to seek professional helpand to adhere to treatment in order to get well. Parsons describes the sick role as amedically sanctioned form of deviant behaviour that is socially accepted. The sick roleconsists of four components that legitimise being sick or being called sick: a) withdrawalfrom social roles such as work; b) withdrawal is temporary c) permission to withdraw issanctioned by a health professional and the diagnosis is accepted by the patient. d) sanctionby the social group to withdraw (Parsons 1975, Clarke 2001, Dubos 1995).32