International Journal of Health Sociology, Year 2021 Issue 2

IDEOLOGICAL PRODUCTION AND DISSEMINATION OF HEALTHY LIFE ADVICE IN TURKEY AND PORTUGAL - 1900-2020

Okan Baldil — 2026-07-16

This paper investigates the gradual development of ideological health communication as part of the social and political evolution taking place in Turkey and Portugal in the last century. In this context, it tried to find an answer to the following research question: "Upon what kind of state and government ideologies and communication processes have healthy lifestyle suggestions been produced and put into circulation in Turkey and Portugal?". While searching for the answer, it mentioned health-relevant politics and activities of both countries with references to the national and international conjunctures. Healthy life advice is the most important product of ideological health communication. Therefore, the production and dissemination of healthy life advice between 1900-2020 are addressed through the presentation of national and international biopolitics of health education, systems, and infrastructures. Along with historical narratives, some specific examples of ideological discourses and health communicational products are presented as supporting visual data. This study aims to reveal the impact of political, ideological, and medical developments on health cultures and regulations, especially in terms of healthy life advice and decision-making. It starts the inquiry on and after Atatürk and Salazar periods, and then focuses on the process and phenomena having emerged until the present time, when we are experiencing an infodemic fed by the bombardment of misinformation and contradictory information. This is not a systematic comparative study, but rather aims to establish a dialogue between two different cases - Turkish and Portuguese societies - in which the similarities and the effects of the differences are discussed. The fact that both societies had similar patterns of rise and decline in history and lagged behind in terms of development during the 20th century and they made efforts to integrate with Europe makes it meaningful to investigate these two former agricultural societies in a research study. In conclusion, despite important ideological differences, many similar phenomena have been found to emerge in the circulation and implementation of health recommendations in both countries in the last 100 years, and at present especially the neoliberal understanding of health affects both countries in similar ways.

“STAY AWAY FROM US!”: A RESEARCH ON THE EXPERIENCE OF STIGMA OF INDIVIDUALS WITH COVID-19

Kerime GÜLEÇRamazan ERDEM ,Sümeyye GÜNGÖR — 2026-07-16

With the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a shift from a collectivist structure to the individual. Individuals have faced some measures such as less togetherness, self-isolation and isolation from society. Although these measures were aimed at improving the health status, they caused the deterioration of social integrity. People have become too dependent on rules and have become intolerant of irregularities or things they think will infect them. This situation has paved the way for the society to develop various reactions such as discrimination and stigmatization against individuals with Covid-19. Based on this, the aim of this study is to reveal the stigmatization experiences of individuals who have had Covid-19 disease in the process. While fulfilling this purpose, phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 participants. As a result of the analysis of the data obtained, two themes were obtained as the reactions of individuals diagnosed with Covid-19 and what happened during the treatment process. What happened during the Covid-19 process is in the form of "seeing support from the environment" and "confronting stigma". It has been concluded that individuals who have had Covid-19 tend to hide and share the disease and are faced with stigmatizing behaviors such as "escape", "pity", "exclusion", "labeling" by both their families and the social environment.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF INDIVIDUALS PERCEPTIONS OF LEISURE TIME BOREDOM AND EMOTIONAL EATING AND OBESITY

Tuğçe DEREGül BİLGİN ,Ahmet ALKAN — 2026-07-16

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between individuals' perceptions of leisure boredom and emotional eating and obesity. For this purpose, data were collected from 424 participants aged 18 and over living in Antalya, Burdur and Isparta in the Western Mediterranean Region. The data collection tools used in the study are the Leisure Time Boredom Scale developed by Iso-Ahola and Weissinger (1990) and adapted into Turkish by Kara et al. (2014). Another scale is the Emotional Eating Sub-Dimension of the Dutch Eating Behavior Scale (Van Strien et al., 1986) adapted into Turkish by Bozan (2009). In addition, in order to determine the level of obesity, the statements including height and weight questions and demographic information are also included in the questionnaire. The relationship between emotional eating, obesity and demographic variables of individuals who are "bored" or "satisfied" in their leisure time has been revealed. In the study, it was concluded that women are more prone to emotional eating than men; it has been revealed that non-working individuals are bored with their free time and are more prone to emotional eating than working individuals. A positive and significant relationship was found between the perception of boredom resulting from leisure time and emotional eating. In addition, significant relationships were found between age, income level, marital status, body mass index and dimensions. As a result of the study, it was concluded that leisure boredom goes from a simple emotional state to create emotional eating disorder in the individual and extends to obesity disease, which threatens health.

A CONCEPTUAL STUDY ON DEATH AND MOUR RITUALS

Meryem Koçaş Ramazan Erdem ,Sümeyye Güngör — 2026-07-16

Death, which is sometimes perceived as a sadness and sometimes as a happiness, is defined as the end of life in the most general sense. Since societies have different ways of perceiving death, the meanings attributed to the deceased have begun to develop as rituals. These rituals are important for individuals to alleviate their suffering, to express their emotions and to be intertwined with the dead. It is seen that the rituals related to death and the mourning process are shaped according to the cultural beliefs of the individuals. Activities called "death industry" have been effective in shaping the beliefs inherent in death and mourning rituals. The death industry provides health services such as funeral services, palliative care services, death process care, euthanasia and death tourism, according to the wishes of the society. The aim of this study is to examine the rituals of death and law in a conceptual framework. In this context, the aim of this study is to examine death and mourning rituals within the framework of health services. In this theoretical study, general information about death and mourning rituals is given and this information is supported by literature information consisting of ritual examples specific to countries. As a result of the study, it is seen that rituals differ in all societies and cultures, but the common point in all of them is to alleviate their pain. Rituals have been tried to be practiced from past times to the present, but the rituals have weakened with the change of conditions. Reasons such as capitalism and the fact that death occurs in the institutional area are effective in weakening the rituals. In short, it was concluded that death and mourning rituals came under the influence of capitalism over time, and the activities carried out after life were carried out by a certain industry.