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How socioeconomic factors affect health
How socioeconomic factors affect health
How socioeconomic factors affect health
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Although many believe that poverty underlies poor health, inequality is actually a stronger driver for adverse health outcomes. Income disparity has a strong influence on health as is shown through access to material resources such as adequate shelter and better quality food. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (2008) “the poor health of the poor, the social gradient in health within countries, and the marked health inequalities between countries are caused by the unequal distribution of power, income, goods, and services”. There are many factors that influence the increasing income inequality both in Canada and globally. These factors including “an increase in international trade, …show more content…
technological change, educational heterogeneity, and employment rate; deindustrialization and declining government payments to persons; and de-unionization” (Breau, 2007). In Ontario, people of lower-income groups are at an increased risk for “heart disease, poor mental health, stress and anxiety, depression, alcoholism, accidents, diabetes, obesity, lung cancer, and a range of other negative outcomes” (Shankardass, Lofters, Kirst, & Quiñonez, 2012).
Yet at the provincial level, there is minimal effort in addressing factors outside of the health care sector to prevent income-related health inequalities (Shankardass et al., 2012). There there has been a move towards addressing health inequalities at the local, provincial, and national levels through the “promotion of the [social determinants of health] by select local public health units in the province of Ontario, the use of health equity impact assessment tools to improve decision-making in Ontario and cross-sectoral policies in the province of Quebec, and the establishment of equity-focused research priorities within federal research funding bodies such as the Canadian Institute of Health Research” (Lofters Slater, Kirst, Shankardass, & Quiñonez, 2014) Despite this, there is still a need for the Canadian government to raise public awareness of income-related health inequalities in order to make policy changes to reduce the wealth gap and create a more equitable health care …show more content…
system. In a research study exploring public awareness of income-related health inequalities in Ontario, it was found that awareness of income-related inequalities is relatively low in the general population (Shankardass et al., 2012).
Results also suggest that even the small majority of participants who indicated that higher income groups tend to have better health than lower income groups still have an incomplete understanding of the range of health outcomes which are linked to income-related inequalities (Shankardass et al., 2012). From these results, further research was conducted in order to explore how people in Ontatrio attribute income-related inequalities in health (Lofters et al., 2014). From this research, it was found that attributions are influenced by personal experience as well as one’s socialization. In general older respondents, visible minorities, and people of lower income, were more likely to attribute inequalities to the social determinants of health (Lofters et al., 2014). In other words, those who have not experienced situations that make up the social determinants of health are less likely to recognize the role that the social determinants may play in producing and maintaining inequalities (Lofters et al., 2014). In a democratic country such as Canada, political will on health and social issues are determined by public awareness and opinion. Policymakers, opinion leaders, and voters, should be the primary target audiences for efforts to raise awareness of
income-related health inequalities because their views will shape health and social policy (Bartels et al., as cited in Niederdeppe, Bu, Borah, Kindig, & Robert, 2008). Thus, greater public awareness of health inequalities will move the health equity agenda forward in Canada. The Canadian government can raise public awareness of income-related health inequalities in part through mass media campaigns. Because income-related health inequality is an issue that affects society as a whole, it is appropriate to include people of all groups as the target audience. The government must be transparent about the issue and messages aimed to raise public awareness of income-related health inequalities and must not place the responsibility of the issue on socially disadvantaged populations and those of lower income brackets. Acknowledging this, the strategies of raising awareness should not focus on understanding the socially disadvantaged and low-income groups, but instead recognize the maintenance of privilege by the advantaged groups. Like other health issues such as HIV/AIDS, mass media campaigns, including conventional print, electronic, and the Internet, have been utilized to raise public awareness and advocate preventive measures of the health issue (Bekalu & Eggermont, 2012). In a research study assessing the literature on the use of mass media campaigns to advance biomedical, structural, and behavioral approaches to HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, it was found that programs promoting behavioral-related interventions have been addressed more than biomedical or structural programs (Bekalu & Eggermont, 2012). Similarly, another research study conducting a 10-year systematic review of HIV/AIDS mass communication campaigns also found that the vast majority of well-controlled HIV/AIDS campaign studies have demonstrated effects on behavior or behavioral intentions (Noar, Palmgreen, Chabot, Dobransky, & Zimmerman, 2009). The centrality of information and communication in behavioral interventions (Bekalu & Eggermont, 2012) is effective in raising public awareness of income-related health inequalities. In respect to raising awareness of income-related health inequalities, mass media campaigns can spread messages to educate the public on how income inequality, in combination with other political and social factors, affect the overall health status in society. In addressing income-related health inequalities, interventions at the community and national level are suitable. Community interventions are those that change behavior by modifying the environment that supports people, whilst interventions at the national level are those that convey health information to people from the government or private groups. In raising public awareness of income-related health inequalities, further interventions can be implemented to reduce income inequality and health disparities.
...nts of Health and the Prevention of Health Inequities. Retrieved 2014, from Australian Medical Association: https://ama.com.au/position-statement/social-determinants-health-and-prevention-health-inequities-2007
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are increasingly becoming a major problem of Public Health around the World. The impact of resources and material deprivation among people and populations has resulted in an increase in mortality rate on a planetary scale. Social determinants of health are defined as the personal, social, economic and the environmental conditions which determines the health status of an individual or population (Gardner, 2013). Today’s society is characterized by inequalities in health, education, income and many other factors which as a result is becoming a burden for Public Health around the world. Research studies have shown that the conditions in which people live and work strongly influenced their health. Individuals with high levels of education and fall within the high income bracket turn to have stable jobs, live in the best neighborhood and have access to quality health care system than individuals who have low education and fall with the low income bracket. This paper is to explain different social determinants of health and how they play ...
Raphael, Dennis. Poverty in Canada: implications for health and quality of life. 2nd ed. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc., 2011. Print.
Germov (2015: 87-93) states that the most common explanations of health inequality can be grouped into five main categories. These five categories are artifact explanations, natural/social selection explanation, cultural/behavioral explanation, materialist/structural explanations, and psycho-social/social capital explanation of the social gradient of health. Basically, health inequality has to do with what your status is as an individual, cultural, economic, as well as education level. In the textbook, Germov (2015: 516) defines the term social gradient of health “as a continuum of health inequality in most countries from high to low.” Meaning the poorest group has the worst health status, while each group above the poorest has a better health status. An example of this injustice would be the indigenous
The public needs to address racial disparities in health which is achievable by changing policy addressing the major components of socioeconomic status (income, education, and occupation) as well as the pathways by which these affect health. To modify these risk factors, one needs to look even further to consider the factors. Socioeconomic status is a key underlying factor. Several components need to be identified to offer more options for those working on policy making. Because the issue is so big, I believe that not a single policy can eliminate health disparities in the United States. One possible pathway can be education, like the campaign to decrease tobacco usage, which is still a big problem, but the health issue has decreased in severity. The other pathway can be by addressing the income, by giving low-income individuals the same quality of care as an individual who has a high
Raphael, D. D. (2002). Poverty, Income Inequality and Health in Canada. CSJ Foundation for Research and Education, 1-32.
In so doing it has created awareness and led to a discussion about the implications of social inequalities on health outcomes of individuals over the years. The theory also provides a broad perspective about disease processes. This has allowed health researcher/professionals to design holistic treatment/care plans that does not only focus on the biomedical disease process but to take other aspects of people’s life into consideration (WHO, 2010).
...e are all affected by low income. As MacRae et al. (2012, p. 42) mentioned, Indigenous people who reported no usual daily intake of fruit or vegetables were more likely to be the lowest quintile of income. And another example from Bourke et al. (2012, p.501) indicates that lower income of the Aboriginal residents of Ruralsville, as well as low social status and socially marginalised, all leads to poorer health status. People with low income are more likely having trouble to get the treatment they need. Some of them cannot afford the medication for a specific disease. A study by Kemp et al. (2013, p.21) shows that, prescription medicines for chronic disease pose a substantial financial burden to people who had low incomes. If a patient cannot get the medication or the surgery, his/her health status will affect by this situation, and eventually leads to bad outcome.
Pierre, N., Pollack, N., & Fafard, P. (2007). Health Policies and Trends for Selected Target Groups in Canada.
Socioeconomic Disparities and health are growing at a rapid rate throughout the United States of America. To further understand the meaning of Socioeconomic Disparities, Health and Socioeconomic disparities & health, this essay will assist in providing evidence. Disparities can be defined in many ways, of which include ethnic and racial background and class types that deal with it the most. Due to the low income some individuals receive, they have less access to health care and are at risk for major health issues. Although, ethnicity and socioeconomic status should not determine the level of health care one should receive or whether not the individual receives healthcare.
Steinbach, R (2009) Equality, equity and policy [online] Health Knowledge. Available at: http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/medical-sociology-policy-economics/4c-equality-equity-policy/inequalities-distribution [Accessed 3 January 2012]
Marmot in his famous article titled Social Determinants of Health Inequalities firmly stated that actions targeted to improve healthcare access should not be focused only on healthcare system but rather on the social determinants of health. Marmot reiterated that health inequalities, disparities and social determinants of health are totally preventable through more inclusive wider social policies. He insists that inequalities of health between and within geographical areas can be reduced through positive actions.3 And such actions should be focused towards improving the social determinants of health in all areas to give everyone equal access to healthcare services.2-3 Explaining that lack of healthcare access are driven by SDOH, Marmot further argues that health cannot be improved by itself alone, but by enhancing those factors that determine health.
Health care inequality has long been customary in the United States. Those in lower classes have higher morbidity, higher mortality, higher infant mortality, and higher disability. Millions of low-income families and individuals have gone with out the care they need simply because they cannot afford it. Denial of benefits due to pre-existing conditions, outrageous deductibles, and unreasonable prescription prices are in large part why the low-income class suffers. In addition, not receiving preventative health care, lack of access to exercise equipment and lack of availability to fresh foods all create health problems that become to expensive to fix. Low-income families need to have better, more affordable access to health care, specifically preventative health care, and be more educated about the benefits of health care in order to narrow the gap of inequality. The new Affordable Care Act under the Obama administration expands heath care coverage to many low income families and individuals by lowering the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, although it is not mandatory for individual states to make this expansion for Medicaid coverage.(CITE) It also requires that preventative health care be included in coverage by insurance companies. So with all the benefits the expansion of Medicaid could offer, why would some states choose not to offer it?
In the United States is Health Care Equally Distributed? The Health Care Industry is one of the largest Social Institutions, made to ensure a communities wellbeing. The issue at hand, Health Care distribution is directly correlated to one’s income. In most cases Health care is often not distributed to those who need it but cannot afford it, and is to those who can afford it and may not need it. Health Care equality can be related to both Conflict and Functionalist Theories.
...on, race, and political belief, economic or social condition. Improving the poor health of disadvantaged individuals and reducing health gaps is important but not enough to level up health through socioeconomic groups. The objective of tackling health inequalities can be changed to local needs and priorities of a community allowing wide-ranging partnerships of support to be organised. However it needs to be made clear that what can be done to help improve the life chances and health prospects of individuals living in poverty may not come close to bringing their health prospects closer to the average of the rest of the population or prevent the gap living on throughout the generations. Being clear about what is trying to be overcome and achieved needs upmost importance in the development and delivery of policies that will promote health equality across the population.