APU - Course Details

Course Details

Course Code: SOCI423 Course ID: 4382 Credit Hours: 3 Level: Undergraduate

This course examines the social contexts of health, illness and organized medical care. It focuses on the theories, research and debates of medical sociology. Topics covered will include the social, environmental and occupational factors in health and illness; the meaning of health and illness from the patient’s perspective; the historical transformation of the health professions and the health work force; the social and cultural factors surrounding the creation and labeling of diseases; disparities in health, access to healthcare, and the quality of healthcare received; organizational and ethical issues in medicine including rising costs and medical technology; and health care reform.

Course Schedule

Registration Dates	Course Dates	Start Month	Session	Weeks
07/27/2021 - 12/31/2021	01/03/2022 - 02/27/2022	January	Winter 2022 Session B	8 Week session
08/31/2021 - 02/04/2022	02/07/2022 - 04/03/2022	February	Winter 2022 Session I	8 Week session
09/28/2021 - 03/04/2022	03/07/2022 - 05/01/2022	March	Winter 2022 Session D	8 Week session
10/26/2021 - 04/01/2022	04/04/2022 - 05/29/2022	April	Spring 2022 Session B	8 Week session
11/30/2021 - 04/29/2022	05/02/2022 - 06/26/2022	May	Spring 2022 Session I	8 Week session

Current Syllabi

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of the course, students should be able to:

CO1: Discuss the social contexts of wellness and illness

CO2: Explain the patient’s perspective on the experience of illness including meaning making and interaction with care providers

CO3: Examine the social-historical transformation of the medical system in the U.S., including the changing role of physicians and other health care providers

CO4: Interpret visual and written depictions of indicators and trends in population health over time

CO5: Identify the socio-cultural aspects of health and illness, particularly as relating to the definitions of health, illness behavior and social epidemiology

CO6: Investigate the social causes of disease and illness related to disparities due to social stratification and unequal access

CO7: Describe the historical role of women in the medical system as patients, practitioners and health care providers

CO8: Differentiate the current ethical issues and debates about new medical technologies and their impact on doctor-patient relationships and on access to health care

CO9: Investigate a subtopic in medical sociology through research using peer-reviewed sources from the APUS

Evaluation

Discussions:

Participation in classroom dialogue on threaded Discussions is required some weeks of class. Initial Discussion posts are due Thursdays, peer responses are due Sundays. Instructions and specific grading rubrics are found under the Discussions tab in our classroom.

Assignments:
This course includes Assignments. Instructions and specific grading rubrics are found under the Assignments tab in our classroom.

Extra Credit:

Extra credit is not offered in this course.

Course Materials