Challenges of the Knowledge Society (Apr 2011)
THE LEGITIMACY OF INCLUDING THE SOCIAL PARAMETERS IN EVALUATING THE HEALTH STATUS IN THE SOCIAL ASSURANCE SYSTEM
Abstract
The social state crisis encouraged a reductionist tendency which had recently developed in the evaluations of the health status in the social assurance system. A holistic, psycho-medical approach, which took in consideration the implications of the social factors regarding disability, was confronted with a strictly medical model, in which the illness is exclusively considered a person’s problem; therefore, the references towards the „social” are irrelevant. In this context, the present paper states the question of the legitimacy of using some sociological concepts, in medical expertise, considered relevant in this area, such as: „occupational access” or the „social functioning of the person”. The present study doesn’t stop at offering as arguments of legitimacy the authority of some recommendations regarding the use of the social-medical model, including the evaluation of the health status, recommendations received from the behalf of OMS and the European Council (see CIF). The paper presents the construction of specific evaluation instruments and tries to identify the sense in which using the references regarding the „social” could influence the pressures in the social assurance system.
