The sick role in a setting of comprehensive medical care

The tendency to enter the sick role is examined in a situation in which economic barriers to medical care have been removed, clinic facilities are accessible, and complete coverage is assured in a system of comprehensive medical insurance. Such a setting serves to highlight the role of norms and cultural values of class and ethnic groups as well as the potential secondary gains to be obtained through illness. The research is based on a sample of 2,013 adult residents drawn systematically from the population register of Israel’s three major urban centers. Since dose to 90 per cent of the population is covered by some form of comprehensive medical insurance, virtually all respondents had such medical care available to them. The tendency to enter the sick role was defined by reported behavior in response to a set of ambiguous, mild, familiar symptoms. The data indicate that a high tendency to enter the sick role is concentrated among older, lower class, less acculturated people. Illness may serve a functional role in a society characterized by a large proportion of immigrants by contributing to their integration in the social system. There is a suggestion that medical care institutions may be playing an acculturative role.