It is of global concern to have an in depth look at the discrepancy in health status in terms of gender, rituals, race, social groups, education, income, disability, ethnicity and sexual orientation. A brief view on the relationship of health and inequalities in health will be outlined further in this assignment with respect to the sociological explanations for these discrepancies. Two highlighted concepts will be followed i.e. graph that comes from Marmots Status Syndrome and a comprehensive IOM study of inequality in the clinical
Introduction There is a rising concern on the topic of health inequalities, which refers to the differences in health status or in the distribution of health determinants between different population groups (World Health Organization, n.d.). Differences in mobility and mortality can be caused by different determines such as gender role, social classes, age, etc. This article will focus on how gender roles and social classes affect one’s health and how they contribute to health inequality as well as reasons for healthcare professionals to be sensitive on this topic. Analysis First and foremost, there factors affect health which is the state of complete physical, social and mental well-being instead of just the absence of disease (World Health Organization, n.d.). The following paragraphs would examine how general roles and social classes affect one’s health and cause health disparity.
This essay aims to identify and evaluate the inequalities in health care in different areas of society, namely disability and gender. Firstly, it is important to understand what we mean by health inequalities. It is commonly understood that health inequality refers to unjust differences in the health status, usually preventable, between different groups, populations or individuals. The existence of such inequalities is attributed to the unequal distributions of social, environmental and economic conditions within societies. Such conditions determine the risk of individuals getting ill, their ability to prevent sickness, as well as opportunities to access to the right treatments.
GENDER DISCRIMINATION Kofi Annan, the 7th Secretary General of the United Nations states that “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a pre-condition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance”. However, gender equality has been difficult to achieve across the globe with gender discrimination being the order of the day. In order to get a clearer understanding of gender discrimination it is essential to know what the terms gender and discrimination mean and why gender is not the same as sex since there has been a misconception of the two terms (sex and gender). Sex refers to one’s biological classification whereas gender has to do with the social definitions attached with being either male or female.
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 more than to biological phenomena (Mackenbach, 2006). Additionally, Virchow (1821-1902) stated: “medicine is a social science, and politics nothing but medicine at a larger scale” (Mackenbach, 2006, p. 4). In order to understand health inequalities and the social determinants of health, the “Rainbow Model” can be used, which shows the layers of influence on health (Figure 2); this is a conceptual model designed by Dehlgren and Whitehead,
Without good health care, people are not able to get the proper treatment they need to be healthy. Reported by Understanding Social Problems, " In the United States, low socioeconomic status is associated with higher incidence and prevalence of health problems, and lower life expectancy" (Mooney, 40). This is
Health inequality can be characterized as the distinctions in health status or in the circulation of health determinants between two or more diverse populace bunches. It is the term utilized as a part of various nations to allude to those occurrences whereby the health of two demographic gatherings (not inexorably ethnic or racial gatherings) varies regardless of near access to health care administrations. Such illustrations incorporate higher rates of morbidity and mortality for those in lower socio-economic gatherings than those in higher, and the improved probability of those from ethnic minorities being determined to have a psychological wellness issue. Health imbalances are frequently seen along a social inclination. This implies the more ideal your social conditions, for example, wage or training, the better your shot at getting a charge out of good health and a more extended life.
Lee K. et al (2009) extensively expounded five areas of weaknesses that are detrimental to attaining good GHG. These are policy coherence and coordination; transparency and accountability; participation and representation; resource mobilization and allocation; and leadership in global governance and social determinants of health, respectively. Key international institutions concerned with health, be they public, private or civil society, operate independent of one another and are accountable to donors not a higher level of health authority. They often have overlapping and duplicated mandates, with cost implications (Lee et al., 2009). Thus there is the need to improve coordination so as to avoid waste, inefficiency, and turf wars while building upon the current enthusiasm of new actors (Szlezák et al.,
Despite these challenges, health care inequities involve not only economic issues, but also moral and ethical ones (Mayberry et al., 2006). An example of inequity is when people of lower socioeconomic status are not provided with the same type of care given to those who are in a higher socioeconomic status. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) provided that almost 36 percent of the American population belongs to an ethnic minority group. People who have lower income should not be deprived of the access to health services. Considering that this population is vulnerable, the state has the burden of protecting them.
5. SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT IN THE SOCIETY The aim of social epidemiology is to identify socio-structural factors that are considered to be the effect of health within a large population. It has been stated that those that normally come from poor social class are the ones that normally get more affected by a disease or an illness, more than those that come from the high class society, those that are wealthy. There are a number of social structural factors that contributes to the effect on the health of the individual namely; social class, income distribution, gender. 5.1.