The same factors that determine health are also responsible for determining ill-health. Each factor may have a positive or negative effect on health Within UK concern about health inequalities due to health being affected by the determinants has a long history. Mortality rates Unskilled/lowest social class= Highest mortality rates, mental health problems, alcohol and drug dependency Professional/highest social class=lowest rates of mortality Lord Darzi in 2007, “the poorest communities experience the worst health….a
This lack of continuity has been shown to lead to poorer health outcomes, as a result of late intervention, focusing on illness rather than wellness and as well as being frustrating to patients and their care providers it increases costs. (APGN, 2009). So what is primary health care and why is it the better outcome for provision of our
According to research, life expectancy rose and death rates began to fall, mostly in infants due to the improvement in sanitation and the provision of clean water, improvement on the council houses and the general improved standards of living. The social model believes that ill health is as a result of the inequalities in society and the life circumstances of the disadvantaged. Marxists believe that levels of illness differ in relation to social class, i.e. there is a high level of illness in poor areas because of poor nutrition, excessive drinking and lack of exercises, there is unequal distribution of NHS resources/ postcode lottery (the health care received depends on geographical location) e.g. South Wales is one of the deprived areas in the UK with fewer hospitals and doctors.
Nature and Extent of health inequities- Socio-economically Disadvantaged People The socioeconomic determinants include income, education and employment. People or groups, who are considered as socio-economically disadvantaged are characterised by the following: * Poor levels of education * Low income * Poor housing * Unskilled work * Long periods of unemployment People from a lower socio-economic background have significantly lower levels of health than higher socio-economic groups. Lower socio-economic groups have higher mortality and higher levels of illness. Many studies show that people or groups who are socially and economically disadvantaged have reduced life expectancy, premature mortality, increased disease incidence and prevalence, increased biological and behavioural risk factors for ill health, and lower overall health status. The link between socio-economic status (SES) and health begins at birth and continues through life, but the strength of the relationship varies at different life stages.
Evaluate different sociological explanations of health and illness in two social groups (D1) Artefact explanation Strength of this explanation is that it gives an account of technical problems in measuring and defining health. However studies show the link between health and social class are not true to life. Different studies have been carried out and different measures of class and health have shown similar patterns. The amount of people in the lower classes always showing poor health has risen. Natural and social selection explanation One strength of this explanation is that it explains the persistence of high mortality and ill health in lower social classes.
Under nutrition on young children can be devastating as this can affect the behavioural and cognitive development as well as reproductive health. Obesity in children can lead to many acute and chronic health conditions including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, joint problems, depression, sleep disorder and liver problems. (Kumanyika, et al., 2008).One of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century is obesity according to the world Health Organisation (2010a, p. 190). Childhood obesity has been shown to have short and long term psychosocial consequences such as negative self-image, eating disorder and reduce
Poverty is not only a lack of sufficient income or material possessions. It is also a condition in which people lack prestige and have less access to resources. The poor often have different lifestyles and different values from those of people not living in poverty. The conditions that poor people often cope with may include: unemployment or off-and-on employment, low-status and low-skill jobs, unstable family and relationships, low involvement in the community, a sense of being isolated from society, low ambition, and feelings of helplessness. Many people living in poverty are divorced, are single parents, or have unhappy marriages.
Mortality rates, particularly infant mortality rates, are often used as an indicator of the health and well-being of the population as a whole. In a particular location, if they’re higher or among a specific social group linked to others, this is seen as a sign that levels of general health and well-being may be declining within those groups and that the causes of this may lie in their social and economic environment – perhaps inadequacies in a range of social and economic services and higher levels of poverty and economic hardship. Mortality rates are collected from the official and required registration and the causes of death from the legally required death certificates. Morbidity rates information is drawn for a wide range of sources including GO and hospital appointment and the registration of notifiable diseases. Difficulties in measuring health It is always important to quote the source of the data, when referring to statistics and should be treated with caution.
Harm in context of health, safety, coping, and socio-economic inequalities. Attributes to an individual’s vulnerability to harm includes childhood trajectories related to poverty, malnutrition, poor parenting, neglect, abuse, and poor living environments. According to Mechanic and Tanner (2007), vulnerability, “is cumulative over the life course” and that “their adverse effects interact with later events in ways that increase the
For example, in Australia and New Zealand indigenous people in both countries that consistently has an experience due to very poor health condition. With the increasing of people in the population that affected by the diseases in indigenous population, it will lead to the inequalities in healthcare such as the minority groups will have an unequal access to resources for health that they need to improve their health in healthcare, such as a healthy food, a good housing, medicine and others. It also impact on health whether in psychological and social condition which can damage their health. For an example, in Australia, a low income and unemployment that occur in the aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander can lead to social isolation and exclusion that influence to their health status. According to the article (Victorian Health Promotion Foundation 2005), these situations can influence whether people