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Inequalities in health and patterns of health and illness
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Health inequalities and their patterns essay
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The Black Report reported on the marked inequalities in health between the social classes. It also stated that mortality tends to rise inversely with falling occupational rank or status, for both sexes and at all ages (Black et al, 1990). Many influences on social class difference in health have been, and continue to be, identified. These include health-related behaviour such as drinking and smoking, living conditions, poverty, low income and use of healthcare. As well as mortality rates there is poorer physical and mental health among lower groups (Larkin, 2011). Sociological approaches to class include those developed by Karl Marx. Marx held the view that in the industrial society of his time there were two social classes: • The bourgeoisie …show more content…
The economic and social conditions of industrial capitalism would inevitably produce an inequality in health as the workers have poorer living conditions and less money. The functionalist approach fits in with the bio-medical model of health in which the Dr is the expert and the sick person has to do as they are told to get better so they can get back to work and their place in society. Postmodernist explanations challenge theoretical certainties about the social world and argue that analysis in terms of social class in irrelevant. They view people as having the opportunity to create their own lifestyles and can make choices about risks that affect their health. They make the point that health differences are not solely the product of the structure of society (Larkin, 2011). Whilst it isn’t it can still be argued that those with less money have less choice in terms of not being able to afford more expensive healthy food or a gym membership. Gender is a factor which causes several inequalities. One inequality is that women can live longer than men, Evidence of this is shown below in Figure 4. Although this is a proven fact, many have argued it because women are more likely to go visit their GPs when feeling sick but men tend to not (Moore et al,
People living in areas such as Playford, has shown to have a lower socioeconomic position, which made them at highest risk of poor health (WHO, 2017). Then, the social determinants of health support the understanding the difference between populations health levels, but also the reasons behind why some groups are healthier than others (Marmot, 2005) and the issue becomes a little bit deeper as people living in different areas related to others differently, so then the social stratification of health is affected by differences in gender, marital status, residential areas and ethnicity (Elstad,
Gavin Turrell, B. F. (1999). Socioeconomic Determinants of Health:Towards a National Research Program and a Policy and Intervention Agenda. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology.
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 ...
According to Germov (2015: p.517) “SES is a statistical measure of relative inequality that classifies individuals, households, or families into one of three categories based on their income, occupation, and education. There are three different categories you can be classified under, which are: low SES, middle SES, or high SES. The socioeconomic status an individual makes has and always will affect the way you are treated in society, as well as your health. The Australian Bureau of Statistics states, that there is a substantial body of evidence that people of lower SES have worse health than others (ABS, 1999). In the context of this essay, I will be exploring health-related data on health and inequality,
Overtime, sociology has played an essential role in the aid of healthcare policies and procedures, along with playing a fundamental role in one’s understanding of health inequalities. This paper explores how sociology has played such a role in healthcare, whilst including discussions regarding the influence of social structures and inequalities in the health of an individual, their family and community, with the topic of health variations between social classes being the main focus of the discussion. A structured overview, review and evaluation of a specific health policy in the UK will also be provided within this paper. Sociology in healthcare. Sociology can be defined in a number of ways, due to its almost limitless scope (Denny, Earle,
Social determinants of health have attracted the attention of governments, policy makers and international health organisations over the last three decades (Hankivsky & Christoffersen 2008). This is because social conditions which people are born in, live and work play an important role in their health outcomes (WHO 2015). According to Kibesh (1200) social determinants drive health disparities, disrupts the human developmental process and undermine the quality of life and opportunities for people and families (ref). Thus, several theories have been developed over the years to provide in-depth understanding of the social determinants of health and to reduce health inequalities (Hankivsky & Christoffersen, 2008). However, there is still significant
Karl Marx was a nineteenth century, German philosopher, economist, a revolutionary socialist whose philosophy known as Marxism became the foundation of communism. ”Despite Karl Marx stating social classes are the
Socio-economic class or socio-economic status (SES) may refer to mixture of various factors such as poverty, occupation and environment. It is a way of measuring the standard and quality of life of individuals and families in society using social and economic factors that affect health and wellbeing ( Giddens and Sutton, 2013). Cockerham (2007 p75) argues: ‘Social class or socioeconomic status (SES) is the strongest predictor of health, disease causation and longevity in medical sociology.’ Research in the 1990s, (Drever and Whitehead, 1997) found out that people in higher SES are generally healthier, and live longer than those in lower SES.
In the past centuries, health care was the responsibility of individuals and their own families but today Medicine comes to be an institution only as societies are more productive and people take on specialized work. At the same time as people become dependent on governments and organizations to provide them their health care and insurance, here is the problem. Social conflict analysis points out the connection between health and social inequality. Following the ideas of Karl Marx, we can match health to the operation of capitalism. Most attention has gone to three main issues: access to medical care, the effects of the profit motive, and the politics of medicine.
Analysis of the Main Strengths and Weaknesses of Marx’s Sociological Thought “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” Marx and Engels (1967, p.67) Born in 1818, Karl Marx, using his philosophical and socialist ideas, attempted to show how conflict and struggle in social development were important in the development of a society. The works of Marx were influenced by three distinct intellectual traditions: German idealist philosophy, French socialism and British political economy. German idealist philosophy is an approach based on the thesis that only the mind and its content really exist. This philosophy maintains that it is through the advance of human reason that human beings progress. French socialism is a political doctrine that emerged during the French Revolution and emphasised social progress led by a new industrial class.
Although philanthropic groups have been concerned about social inequalities for centuries, the issue of health inequalities in the UK was rejuvenated in the 1980s by the publication of the Black Report (Black and Townsend et al., 1982). Data amassed by the Black Report illustrated marked differences in mortality rates between the occupational classes, for both men and woman alike, at all ages. A class gradient was observed for most causes of death. The Black Report provided four theoretical explanations of the relationship between health and inequality:
Karl Marx and Max Weber are two of the most significant and influential theorists and sociologists of the 19th century. Both examined very similar ideas but had very different conclusions and are now famously known as ‘The Founding Fathers of Sociology’. One of the Crucial contributions to sociology is both sociologists views and findings on class and equality. Karl Marx found that class was categorised by the means of production. Almost half a century later Max Weber contrasted, class was based on three things Power, Wealth, And Prestige.
This is what Wilkinson tries to understand with his theory of income inequality, and thereby hopes to give an explanation to why health differences occur (Rowlingson, 2011). This says that ‘it is not the richest countries that have the greatest health, but it is the most egalitarian societies that are healthier and have a smaller disparity in health’ (Wilkinson, 1996). In this essay the Wilkinson Theory is going to be discussed in depth in order to help explain what psycho-social pathways are and why they affect health on a national level.
Karl Marx and Max Weber both expressed an interest in the social class. Social class as defined in the class is an individual’s relation to the organization of production. (Nakhaie 2015) Weber discusses class in the context of social stratification, which can be defined by many resources as “a society’s categorization of people into socioeconomic strata.” This social stratum is based on a person occupation, income, wealth and social status. Webers treatment of class and status indicates the manner in which the material basis of society is related to. It can be said that Weber identifies a variety of social classes; with the analysis of his classes overlapping his theory that rationalization comes to dominate modern societies and class systems. “Weber and Marx both regard society as characterized by conflicts over resources and power.” (Bratton and Denham 2014:255) Marx, on the other hand, had many views on social classes and class systems, however, his view of the capitalist stage of production consists of two classes that are seen as his most influential. The first of the two classes is the bourgeoisie or the “means of production”; this is the middle-class citizens who are seen as having materialistic values. The second is known as the proletariats, or the “working class”; they are seen as having collective values. As mentioned above, Weber agreed with Marx’ views on classes, however, our
As current heated political and economic deliberations about universal health care suggest, the topics of fair and equal access to basic health services and assuaging inequalities in health care is at the forefront of society. Many disagree on the best methods and theories by which to achieve these goals. Marxism holds that all people of a society are equal in material matters and that each person should contribute according to ability and receive according to need; capitalism should be disregarded and the power taken from the bourgeois should be given to the working class. Yet, under the reality of communism, only those in positions of power live well, off the productivity of the masses. Communistic societies suffer because those who are most productive are not rewarded monetarily for their hard work, rather they are taught to believe that others deserve the money and benefits that they have earned