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Essay on social inequality in health
Inequalities in health and illness
Essay on social inequality in health
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Class inequity is based upon the position of power that an individual has within society (Carey 2013, p. 80). It is built around the idea of an economic hierarchy, and each person having a ranking (Carey 2013, p. 80). In regards to health, it is seen that a person with a high socio-economic status has better access to medical resources, and in contrast, those with a low socio-economic status receive little-to-no medical help (Carey 2013, p. 80). Gender, race and ethnicity also contribute to a person’s ‘class’, which therefore adds to the idea of class inequity (Cerasa 2011).
Health is impacted by class inequality in various ways. Indigenous Australians are a prime example of this (Cerasa 2011). There is a conflict between classes in that of non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians in regard to access to health facilities (Cerasa 2011). Location is a main factor when looking at these disparities (Cerasa 2011). Due to a high amount of the Indigenous population living in rural areas around Australia, this hinders their ability to reach medical resources, and certain medical facilities are consequently not available to them (Cerasa 2011).
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51). This was a study that looked into the access that Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have to eye health services in certain areas (Kelaher, Ferdinand & Taylor 2012, p. 51). It used information sourced from Medicare Australia and also used inpatient and outpatient data to gain a good understanding of the services available to these certain populations (Kelaher, Ferdinand & Taylor 2012, p. 51). From this study, it can be concluded that there is great concern in areas with high Indigenous populations, with rate of cataract surgery and eye examinations being below the World Health Organisations (WHO) recommendations (Kelaher, Ferdinand & Taylor 2012, p.
Class is a key idea related to inequality, prejudice and discrimination in Australian society. It has been considered out of fashion, because some Australian people think that there is no class difference between people in Australia, everyone enjoys equality in society. In fact, the recent de-regulation of the workplace, and the widening gap in access to hospitals, schools and employment opportunities between the rich and poor, have made class more visible in Australian than ever before. Class is "a category of people who have generally similar educational histories, job opportunities, and social standing and who are conscious of their membership in a social group that is ranked in relation to others and is replicated over generations" (Kent, 1998:87). This essay argues that class cause continues to inequality in Australian society. Firstly, class structures labor market inequality. Secondly, class shapes the quality of a person's life. Thirdly, class inequality produces continuing class differences into the next generation. Finally, class has becoming a debate in Australian society, because class inequality encourages the `right' people to work more efficiently in the workforce and helps people to identify themselves in society, but continuing relevance of the concept of class is a matter in contemporary Australia.
Throughout the world, in history and in present day, injustice has affected all of us. Whether it is racial, sexist, discriminatory, being left disadvantaged or worse, injustice surrounds us. Australia is a country that has been plagued by injustice since the day our British ancestors first set foot on Australian soil and claimed the land as theirs. We’ve killed off many of the Indigenous Aboriginal people, and also took Aboriginal children away from their families; this is known as the stolen generation. On the day Australia became a federation in 1901, the first Prime Minister of Australia, Edmund Barton, created the White Australia Policy. This only let people of white skin colour migrate to the country. Even though Australia was the first country to let women vote, women didn’t stand in Parliament until 1943 as many of us didn’t support female candidates, this was 40 years after they passed the law in Australian Parliament for women to stand in elections. After the events of World War Two, we have made an effort to make a stop to these issues here in Australia.
Over the last two decades the Australian population has faced a number of economic instabilities that has seen the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ increase. To determine who the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ are an in-depth investigation will be performed examining the circumstances under which the gap can be manipulated. The economic wellbeing of individuals is largely determined by their command over economic resources (ABS, 2009). The wellbeing of individuals who are classified as ‘haves’ are usually people who are asset rich, contain bonds, shares and are fairly affluent. The wellbeing of individuals who are classified as ‘have nots’ are usually the working poor, who have little assets and little investments i.e. bonds. These individuals are usually middle income earners which are categorised as being in relative poverty. Relative poverty as defined by L. Kirkwood, I. Searle, T. Cronk, D. Cave and J. Swiericzuk as the situation of people whose income and lifestyle has fallen below, by more than a certain degree, the average income and lifestyle enjoyed by the rest of society.
In Canada, access to health care is ‘universal’ to its citizens under the Canadian Health Care Act and this system is considered to the one of the best in the world (Laurel & Richard, 2002). Access to health care is assumed on the strong social value of equality and is defined as the distribution of services to all those in need and for the common good and health of all residents (Fierlbeck, 2011). Equitable access to health care does not mean that all citizens are subjected to receive the same number of services but rather that wherever the service is provided it is based on need. Therefore, not all Canadians have equal access to health services. The Aboriginal peoples in Canada in particular are a population that is overlooked and underserved
The myth that Australia is a classless society is still, till this day, circulating. With education opportunities differing, depending on your status in society and socioeconomic background, not all Australians share the same opportunity of education. Whether being a middle class citizen or an “elite” or from working class, all education opportunities offered, will be influenced by your financial status and hierarchy in society.
There are significant health disparities that exist between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians. Being an Indigenous Australian means the person is and identifies as an Indigenous Australian, acknowledges their Indigenous heritage and is accepted as such in the community they live in (Daly, Speedy, & Jackson, 2010). Compared with Non-Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people die at much younger ages, have more disability and experience a reduced quality of life because of ill health. This difference in health status is why Indigenous Australians health is often described as “Third World health in a First World nation” (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall, & Bailie, 2007, p.xxi). Aboriginal health care in the present and future should encompass a holistic approach which includes social, emotional, spiritual and cultural wellbeing in order to be culturally suitable to improve Indigenous Health. There are three dimensions of health- physical, social and mental- that all interrelate to determine an individual’s overall health. If one of these dimensions is compromised, it affects how the other two dimensions function, and overall affects an individual’s health status. The social determinants of health are conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age which includes education, economics, social gradient, stress, early life, social inclusion, employment, transport, food, and social supports (Gruis, 2014). The social determinants that are specifically negatively impacting on Indigenous Australians health include poverty, social class, racism, education, employment, country/land and housing (Isaacs, 2014). If these social determinants inequalities are remedied, Indigenous Australians will have the same opportunities as Non-Ind...
0.8% of the overall Federal health expenditure in 2009 which was spent on Aboriginal health. The overall wellbeing of an individual is more than just being free from disease. It is about their social, emotional, spiritual, physiological as well as the physical prosperity. Indigenous health issues are all around us, but we don’t recognise because it doesn’t affect us, but this issue is a concern to Indigenous Australia and also to modern day Catholics in Australia The statistics relating to Indigenous health is inexcusable, life expectancy is at an all time low, higher hospilatisation for avoidable diseases, alerting rates of deaths from diabetes and kidney disease. This issue is bigger than we all think, for example 13% of Indigenous homes
Topic 3: "Outline the social determinants of health in Australia and provide a critical analysis of these determinants. Discuss the current health status comparisons between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and interventions to remedy these inequalities.”
Poor living conditions are a major health determinant throughout the indigenous population. Most Indigenous Australians are known to live in rural parts of Australia which are commonly not close to major cities and services. People living in these areas generally have poorer health than others living in the cities and other parts of Australia. These individuals do not have as much access to health services and good quality housing. In 2006 roughly 14% of indigenous households in Australia were overcrowded unlike 5% of other households (AIHW, 2009a). Overcrowded and poor quality houses are commonly associated with poor physical and mental health between the people living in them. The indigenous are n...
Turrell, G. et al. (2006) Health inequalities in Australia: morbidity, health behaviors, risk factors and health service use. Canberra: Queensland University of Technology and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2006. Retrieved on March 29th, 2011 from http://152.91.62.50/publications/phe/hiamhbrfhsu/hiamhbrfhsu-c00.pdf.
Social class, or one’s ranking in the socio-economic hierarchy is not quite as simple as we want it to be most times. One of these common misconceptions is that class can be neatly divided into three categories, the ever familiar lower, middle, and upper classes. However, as evidenced by authors such as Fussell, Luthar, and Eighner, these neat little divisions do not hold up when put under the scrutiny of everyday life. This is because life itself avoids simplification, and the true nature of class extends far deeper than the economic variables we often consider to be the defining factors. The purpose of this essay is to...
Torkildsen (2011) stated that the nature and definition of 'social class' is generally regarded as being problematic, as class not only relates to income or occupation but also upbringing and family background. "social class is often regarded as grouping on the basis of occupation, which is 'socioeconomic class' rather than social class" (Torkildsen, 2011 p.49). divine
In today’s society people are viewed as being in different classes depending on how much money they bring in. The categorization of people is known as classism. Classism is simply the prejudice or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class. Classism is known as one of the largest social problems plaguing the world today. Classes are formed according to how the rules of the following institutions; government regulations and economic status. It is held in place by a system of beliefs and cultural attitudes that ranks people according to their; economic status, family lineage, job status, and level of education. There are three major classifications to which people are titled. They include upper or high class which includes the people with the most money. The middle class who includes the people that brings home the average income. Finally, the class titled the lower class that includes the people who have only one income coming in or none at all (“What Is Classism.”). In the classrooms these classes still remain and the students within each class have different ways in which they learn, and view schooling. We as educators have to look passed their ways and address each class the same.
Department of Health South Australia. (2004). Cultural Respect Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council. Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Working Party
This review has attempted to explore the available literature in order to link these determinants with the known discrepancies in diabetes outcomes, in which Indigenous Australians fair worse than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and those in remote locations fair worse than those in urban settings. While there are numerous absences in the literature, this review has been able to provide an overview of the of the determinants of health that impact Indigenous Australians in remote communities living with