The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Prostate Health
Disparities in cancer are caused by the complex interaction of low economic status, culture, and social injustice, with poverty playing the dominant role (Freeman, 2004). So I ask the question: Does socioeconomics impact a man’s prostate health?
Most men cannot tell where their prostate is located or what it looks like, so when it comes to knowing how it should feel and gauges of bad prostate health they are unfortunately ignorant of their own status. Unfortunately, socioeconomic status (SES) also effects prostate health in as much as it effects health care and health quality as a whole. The general consensus is that those who are poor are typically unable to afford healthcare, so those who do have healthcare through the state avoid major medical treatment for fear of not being able to afford what their insurance doesn’t cover. Likewise, those without insurance usually avoid medical appointments all together until major pain or illness consumes them. Socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to several factors that may collectively influence the burden of prostate cancer, including lifestyle and environmental risk
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factors as well as access, quality, and utilization of screening and health care services. Low SES and lack of health insurance are widespread problems in some minority communities, more so than in the general population.
For these reasons, minorities often put off the expense of seeing a doctor until they have advanced disease and are past being easily treated. A lack of education, rural or inner city residence, unemployment, and low literacy rate may also contribute to higher cancer mortality rates for some communities. In several studies researchers investigates whether socioeconomic status is the reason for the disparity in prostate cancer incidence, where African Americans and Non- Hispanic Whites are the top two candidates for prostate cancer. Some results found that the highest level of cancer incidence was positively correlated with low socioeconomic status (Cheng, et al.,
2009). African American men are less likely to complete high school than their white male and female or African American female peers, they are more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms, and they have fewer sanctioned coping strategies. Arguably, no other group in American society has been more maligned, regularly faced with tremendous odds that uniquely threaten their existence. Prostate health issues particularly prostate cancer, disparity seen in minorities especially the African-American men, including the fact that: they do not have adequate knowledge about prostate cancer disease, BPH or Prostatitis infection, including basic components of prostate check-up, they are less likely to correctly identify early symptoms of prostate cancer, they are more likely to believe pain is the first symptom of prostate cancer they do not understand or have knowledge that their race makes them a high-risk group. The better chance of survival has been linked to education and early detection. Since there is no recognizable symptom for early prostate cancer, early detection should be promoted in at-risk men, especially African-American men, so that aggressive treatment can be provided to increase the survival rate in this population (African American Health 2009). Whether or not SEC impacts a man’s health is worth further research; however, it has been found to affect patients treatment choices when diagnosed with prostate cancer and overall prostate cancer survival (Major et al., 2012 ).
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 ...
People in lower classes are more likely to get sicker more often and to die quicker. People in metro Louisville reveal 5- and 10-year gaps in life expectancy between the city’s rich, middle- and working-class neighborhoods. Those who live in the working class neighborhood face more stressors like unpaid bills, jobs that pay little to nothing, unsafe living conditions, and the fewest resources available to help them, all of these contribute to the health issues.
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,
Diabetes Programs: The Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute Experience. Curr Diab Rep Current Diabetes Reports, 14(2). Doi:10.1007/s11892-013-0462-0
Williams, D. R., & Collins, C. (1995). Us socioeconomic and racial differences in health: Patterns and explanations. Annual Review of Sociology, 21(1), 349. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9509242616&site=ehost-live
Prostate cancer has been the number one diagnosed cancer today. According to the World Health Organization, approximately one in every ten American men will develop prostate cancer during his lifespan. This cancer has been very common in the last few years. American Cancer Society reported over 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer. Huge number of population suffered severely. The prostate is significant for reproduction. It helps the substances that are involved in fertilization and transporting of sperm as well as survival. Prostate tumor is developed in the prostate gland, which is found in the men’s reproductive system. Prostate is the size of a walnut, which is located inferiorly in the penis and anterior to the rectum. It contains the connective tissue, which includes the glandular and fibrous tissues. This tumor starts to develop during their adolescent year due to the control of the male reproductive hormones. When the tumor starts to develop, it begins at the urethra, which is a tube that releases the urine from the bladder. The tumor is a slow development yet it is contagious to the other parts of the body, such as it does affect the pelvic bones, lungs, liver, and the lower vertebrae (Zenka, 2009).
Social determinants of health has been a large topic for many years and can have a positive and negative effect on individuals, families and communities. (World Health Organisation, 2009) The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. Social determinants have many factors and in this essay education will be the main social determinant of health discussed and how this could have an impact on the physical and mental sides of health.
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.
Williams, D., and Chiquita Collins (1995). U.S. Socioeconomic and Racial Differences in Health: Patterns and Explanations. Annual Review of Sociology, 21, 349-386.
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.
Over the years, the social determinants of health (SDOH) have been receiving more attention due to its importance in determining peoples’ health access, health quality and health outcome. The social determinants of health have been described by various scholars as the situation or environmental condition in which people are born, or where they grow, live and work; unfortunately these conditions have continued to affect and determine people’s ability to access proper care.1-5 In other words, the SDOH continues to consciously and unconsciously influence people’s access to most opportunities in life including access to healthcare services both in developed and developing countries.2 This issues have continue to deteriorate in most developing countries increasing people’s susceptibility to multi-morbidity among different age groups, with a slight increase among the elderly.6
What comes to mind when being asked what the most important aspect of our life is ? Could it be money, or clothes, or friends? The answer is quite easy, its our Health. Without our health we have nothing. Each and every person should evaluate their personal health and make goals accordingly. A lot of the time we think we are on track with our goals, only to realize that we are in fact not treating our health as we should. Take me for example. Before evaluating my health due to this assignment, I thought I was on the right path and making the right choices. It turns out that I needed to reevaluate.
Another test for early detection of prostate cancer has been the digital rectal exam (DRE). Although DRE is a better method for early detection, it is also a hindrance among men, particularly African-American men, to screening and early detection (Plowden, 2009). According to American Cancer Society (ACS) and American Urological Association (AUA), the PSA and DRE should be offered annually for all men beginning at age 50 (Gray, 2009). However, they also recommend that African-American men with a family history of prostate cancer should begin testing by age 45 (Plowden, 2009). However, due to the cultural barriers to prostate screening such as lack of understanding, traditions, mist...
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention governmental website, 117,489 men were diagnosed with having prostate cancer in the United States during the year of 2012. Approximately 27, 244 men died from this disease the same year (CDC, 2014). It has been found that about one in every seven men will be diagnosed with this cancer. In addition, the chance of older men (men aged 65 years and older) being diagnosed with the disease is much high than younger men. However, the number of young men being diagnosed with the disease also increased with the improvement on the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test screening. As mentioned in the journal article “Prostate Cancer in Elderly Men” by Anton Stangelberge, Matthias Waldert, and Bob Djavan, “the number of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer who are younger than 60 years old increased from 18.6% in 1991 to 40.7% in 2000” (Stangelberger, Waldert, & Djavan, 2008). Nevertheless, the cancer rate increase with the increase of age. This research also found that men from different race also have different cancer rate. Statistics shows that the rates of cancer peaked in white men in 1992 is approximately 237.6 per 100,000 men and about 342.8 per 100,000 men for African American in 1993. It seems African-American men are more likely prone to the disease than white men. In some cases, heredity also plays a role in developing cancer. Since our genes are from both of our parents, people in a family with the history of prostate cancer have a higher chance of getting the
Community Health is the study and development of health in different communities. Community health tends to focus on area which includes primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. It is also related to policies and a broad health services ranging to prevent diseases, promote health, and to rehabilitate the community. This is dedicated to individuals belonging to a local community and also the features of this community and its environment. With this community health nursing can be explained as a practice of taking care of the family from the child trough to the elderly on how to live a healthy and productive life, they provide a continuous service making sure that the physical and mental state of all individuals is good and also not prone to any chronic or risky diseases. Community health nurses are not restricted to the care of a particular age or diagnostic group. Contribution of all clients of health care are encouraged in the development of community activities that contribute to the promotion, education, and maintenance of good health. These activities require full health programs that pay special attention to socio-ecologic controls and specific populations at risk. Community health nurses are valued for their adaptive and ability to provide care in many ways, including community health clinics, churches, homeless shelters, and schools. Their role is to provide full care to patients within their homes, at organized events such as health fairs, and at agencies and institutions serving people who have particular health needs. They also lead or work together with other health care professionals, organizations, political figures and members of the community to promote health for their community. They develop and apply corporat...