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The Health unit in A Level Sociology explores the social construction of health, illness, and healthcare, offering students a critical perspective on one of the most relevant areas of public life. This topic examines how factors such as social class, gender, ethnicity, and age influence patterns of health, access to healthcare, and life expectancy. Students analyse the role of the biomedical model versus the social model of health, and explore how definitions of health and illness are shaped by cultural, political, and economic forces.

Key theoretical perspectives are examined, including Marxist, Feminist, Functionalist, and Interactionist approaches, each offering insight into inequalities in health outcomes and the organisation of medical power. The unit also covers the professionalisation of medicine, the doctor-patient relationship, and medicalisation, drawing on thinkers like Parsons, Illich, and Foucault. In addition, students explore the structure and role of the NHS, debates around privatisation, and the globalisation of health systems.

Supporting this, the Health unit bundle typically includes:

PDF summaries for all key topics and theories

PowerPoint presentations with visual aids, data, and case studies

Skills-based activities (e.g. evaluating health statistics, role play on patient experiences, theory-application tasks)

Podcast episodes discussing health inequalities and sociological debates

Exam question banks with model answers (e.g. “Evaluate the view that health inequalities are primarily caused by social class”)

Interactive quizzes to reinforce knowledge of key terms, theorists, and models

Altogether, this unit enables students to understand the inequalities, structures, and power dynamics involved in healthcare systems, making it an essential and highly engaging part of the A Level Sociology course