The Functional Approach and the Social Dimension of Health and Illness: An Analytical Reading

Abstract

In the functional model, Parsons argued that the best way to understand illness socially is to view it as a form of deviation that disrupts the social function of society. The general idea is that an individual who falls ill is not only physically sick but also acquires a social role that they must adhere to. Furthermore, the practice of medicine should not be limited to the study and observation of medical science as a rigid academic discipline; rather, it dynamically and sociologically extends to take into account psychosocial dimensions, human geography, and endemic and infectious diseases.