Exam 11: Health and Medicine

In Canada, thanks in large part to our system of universal health care, on all measures tracked by the United Nations (with the significant exception of except smoking rates), poor people enjoy the same health outcomes as people of higher socioeconomic status.

Who stressed the importance of preventative measures, such as exercise, a balanced diet, and a congenial environment, in maintaining good health?

From the point of view of doctors, one of the benefits of professionalization is that the members of the profession enjoy high occupational prestige.

The country with the world's lowest life expectancy is the African country of Lesotho. What is their life expectancy?

Contrast health care costs in Canada with health care costs in the United States.

Racial disparities in health status are due partly to economic differences between racial groups. What have American studies shown regarding blacks and whites at the same income level?

Describe the set of regulations that the Canadian government has put in place to control the price of prescription drugs.

In the fourteenth century, how many people did the Black Death kill?

As people move down the social hierarchy, health deteriorates and death rates increase. Which of the following changes resulting from lower socioeconomic status is associated with these negative outcomes?

According to the text, what is the public health system?

Tony is a professor. He tells his partner, Justin that he wants them to move from their nice neighbourhood near the university. There's a very big old house in a run-down part of town where the prices are very low, compared to real estate in the rest of the city. Justin, a sociologist, is horrified. He is very concerned that moving to that part of town would likely put their two young children at an increase health risk. Which of the following is most likely the factor that Justin is concerned about?

As people move down the social hierarchy, health deteriorates and death rates increase. Which of the following is also associated with a lower position on the social hierarchy?

Research shows that a strong belief in the effectiveness of a cure can, by itself, improve the condition of about one-third of people suffering from chronic pain or fatigue. What is this phenomenon known as?

Does spending more money on health care always improve the health of the nation?

Which of the following conclusions logically follows from the fact that medieval doctors recommended exercise, a balanced diet, and a congenial environment as keys to good health?

According to many scholars, the Black Death still ranks as the most devastating catastrophe in human history.

Maria, a biochemist, was chatting with her friend Derek at a café. Derek was telling Maria about a mutual acquaintance who was convinced of having been cured of a serious kidney infection through the administration of a homeopathic remedy. Like Maria, Derek was very sceptical about the claims of homeopathy but, unlike her, he wasn't a scientist, so he asked her if there was any kind of explanation for this. Which of the following is likely to have been Maria's response?

The segment of the population that was least affected by the Black Death was the wealthy aristocracy, largely because they were able to relocate outside busy cities where the germs circulated more freely.

What is alternative medicine?

Benjamin's religion required him to honour the higher power by performing regular bodily cleansing rituals. Which religion prescribed these practices and saved many people from contracting the Black Plague?