What is the symbolic interactionist perspective on health and illness?
Health is not only a biological matter; but also it is intimately related to society. Illness is also far from an objective matter, for illness is always viewed from the framework of culture. The definitions applied to physical and mental conditions vary from one group to another. The Functionalist Perspective What is the functionalist perspective on health and illness? Functionalists stress that in return for being excused from their usual, responsible activities, people have to accept the sick role. They must assume responsibility for seeking competent medical help and cooperate in getting well so they can quickly resume normal activities. The Conflict Perspective What is the conflict perspective on health and illness? Health care is one of the scarce resources over which groups compete. On a global level, health care follows the stratification that we studied in Chapter 9. The best health care is available in the dominant nations, the worst in the dependent nations.   In the Ame