Health Disparities in Lower Socioeconomic Individuals Socioeconomic status (SES) in recent times has been defined as “a broad concept that refers to the placement of persons, households and census tracts with respect to the capacity to create or consume goods that are valued in our society.” More specifically, it is the access an individual or group has to rudimentary resources that are required to obtain and preserve good health (Shavers, 2007). Socioeconomic status has been shown to impact physical health, with escalations in SES being linked with prominent benefits to health (Schreier & Chen, 2013). The fact that our culture’s poorer and less advantaged individuals live with inferior health and die earlier is a problem that needs to be …show more content…
To exemplify this fact, imagine a time before preventative health screenings were available; SES could not be tied to access to care, because these did not exist. For conditions where medical advances have been made that now provide treatment and prevention, overall mortality decreased while SES and race gradients shifted toward greater mortality for less fortunate groups (Phelan, Link, & Tehranifar, 2010). The Fundamental Cause Theory’s basic principle described by Phelan (2010) states, “a superior collection of flexible resources held by higher SES individuals and the collectivities to which they belong allow those of higher SES to avoid disease and death in widely divergent circumstances”. This theory argues that those with more resources, whether it is money, knowledge, power, etc., have better access to healthcare, and will die less often from preventable disease. Lower SES individuals experience several ways in which their social class impacts their health: less access to healthcare, poor behavior and lifestyle habits, and exposure to harmful environmental toxins. Environmental and lifestyle disparities experienced by lower SES individuals account for up to 80% of premature deaths (Shavers, 2007). Furthermore, three studies determined “that the SES-mortality association was stronger for preventable causes of death” (Phelan, Link, & Tehranifar, 2010). Due to unequal resource distribution, the lowest social class is becoming more ill, and dying sooner than their high class counterparts. If resources were more available or redistributed to reduce the inequality, inequalities in healthcare would also decrease (Phelan, Link, & Tehranifar,
Dean Gaylord According to our textbook, In the US whites hold a significant advantage in health and longevity. The life expectancy for whites is averaged at 79.0 years compared with African Americans at 75.3. Those statistics were provided in the textbook by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012c. The textbook also talked about how during Bill Clintons presidency David Satcher a surgeon made the reduction of health disparities by race one of his primary goals.
For decades, a person’s socioeconomic status or SES has affected the health care that people receive due to race and “wealth”. This problem has plagued American society because of these factors leading to many receiving inadequate health care. All of these factors for someone’s SES, has changed a lot in the health care domain that is unfair to many who are not the “ideal” and are a minority. Due to this the perception, experiences with health care waver and are different between the stages of these SES’s. No matter the status of a person they should receive the same amount of care, treatment, and closer.
Epidemiologists have known that poverty is interrelated with higher morbidity and mortality rates. Recent research has suggested a positive
Living in underprivileged neighborhoods creates a lot of stress on community members that predispose them to contracting diseases. Epidemiologist, Ana Diez-Roux, states that people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods have a 50% to 80% increased risk of developing heart disease. An improvement of health policies is required to for disadvantaged neighborhoods to
The term social determinants of health, can be defined as a ‘set of conditions in which people are born, grow up, live and work.’ These conditions include housing, education, financial security and the environment along with the healthcare service. (http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/438838/01.12_Health_inequalities_and_the_social_determinants_of_health.pdf) These factors are affected by the amount of money, power and resources that are available at a global, national and local level. Social determinants of health are linked to health inequalities according to the World Health Organisation, health inequalities are ‘the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.’
Being a racial minority or of lower social status, health and longevity could be effected because they may not have the money or insurance necessary to cover medical expenses. People in lower social status situations typically are low income families and do not have insurance. Without medical insurance, these people are unable to maintain healthy lifestyles. They do not receive preventative care which can negatively impact their longevity. People in lower income families also can not afford to eat properly.
Annotated Bibliography Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet, 365, 1099 1104. This journal article illustrates that many countries have enormous disparities in health.
The film, Unnatural Causes, states that social class determines your health. “Health and Wealth” backs up that statement by saying, “The wider the inequality, the worse the nation’s overall health” (Jacobs and Morone 2004). This also is due to a lack of health care and “how medical costs are raising faster than personal income growth” (Jacobs and Morone 2004). People who have wealth can afford health care, unlike some people who are at the bottom of the social class who cannot afford health care. What about the people who are climbing up the social ladder?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the social determinants of health as “…the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life” (WHO, 2023). The 5 social determinants of health include: economic stability, education, social and community context, health and health care, and neighborhood and built
Research clearly indicates that health is related to individual socioeconomic status (Hurst, 227). Apart from income, the other types such as race and gender inequality severely impact the health of individuals. The matter of good psychological health remains unattended in poor people because of less awareness on the matter. Several victims of depression and alienation are found in financial weak sections of the society. Women, socially oppressed, and the poor population has the least choice for a better lifestyle.
Health inequalities are a result of unequal exposure to risk factors associated with socio-economic inequalities, such as social, economic and environmental conditions (Thomson, Bambra, McNamara, Huijts, & Todd, 2016). These inequalities in health, between people belonging to different socio-economic groups, were firstly recognized in the Nineteenth century, when public health figures in different European countries dedicated their studies to these issues (Mackenbach, 2006). Villermé (1782-1863), conducted a study in Paris, and showed districts with lower socio-economic statuses had higher mortality rates compared to neighborhoods with a higher socio-economic status, and came to the conclusion that life and death are related to social circumstances
There is no doubt that a direct correlation between low income and less health is prevalent. I see it specifically in my place of work. I work at wound care center where over half of the wounds we see are complicated by diabetes. The patient population that are younger and have uncontrolled diabetes are mostly young, of lesser socioeconomic class with government funded insurance like Fidelis and Medicaid. In a survey completed in 2010 48% of people with less education and a lower household income under $24,000 report that they have health problems that prevent them from doing what other people in their age group can do.
Socioeconomic status is a measurement of a person’s occupation, income and education levels. In most cases, socioeconomic status is perceived as social standing or financial class of an individual. Additionally, it is mostly based on power, influence and control that an individual has over others. Socioeconomic status is a fundamental variable utilized in discerning inequalities particularly in accessing and distributing public resources. Social standing is applicable in a wide range of realms such as behavioral factors as well as social sciences.
For example, differences in mobility between elderly people and younger populations or differences in mortality rates between people from different social classes. Equality in health is about ensuring that poorer and vulnerable people in our communities have the opportunity and fair chance to reach the maximum health that they can achieve. For instance, when the patients are recovered and discharged , poor living environment may be a cause that makes the patient ill again. Just as mentioned above, Social conditions have a direct relationship with health. For instance, Wilkinson (1996) analyzes data of mortality and morbidity from several countries and finds that the widest gaps in health inequalities are found in countries that have the widest gaps in income.
Less educated households and nations are also characterized by high mortality rates and poor health. There are fundamental