Summary: Social Inequalities In Health
Inequality in Health
Health is not just the outcome of genetic or biological processes but is also influenced by the social and economic conditions in which we live. These influences have become known as the ‘social factors of health’. An inequality in social conditions rises to unequal and unjust health outcomes for different social groups (health knowledge 2011).
Health inequalities are not only apparent between people of different socio-economic groups but also exists between different genders, different ethnic groups, elderly, people who suffering from mental health complications or learning disabilities also people who has worse health than the rest of the population. The causes of health inequalities are complex, and include lifestyle …show more content…
factors such as smoking, nutrition, exercise, also wider determinants such as poverty, housing and education. Access to healthcare may play a role, and there are particular concerns about ‘institutional ageism’, but this appears to be less important than other causes.
Absolute and relative inequalities in health are an observed notion which refers to differences in health status between different groups.
Surely factors such as poverty, food insecurity, social exclusion and discrimination, poor housing, unhealthy early childhood conditions and low occupational status are important determinants of most diseases, deaths and health inequalities between and within countries (WHO 2004).
As well a life course perception offers a framework for understanding how these social factors of health forms and influences an individual’s health from birth to old age (health knowledge 2011).
There is range of factors which contributes to health Inequalities for example:
Social Class inequality (including income, wealth and education)
Research on socio-economic inequalities in health in the UK has a lengthy history. In the early part of the 20th century the British government introduced questions of inequality. This allowed researchers to examine health outcomes by social class. The five class scheme Registrar General’s Social Class (RGSC) which was created in 1911 and a variation of this scheme are still used till today. Back in 1972 years according to the classifications of Social Classes table shows that the man who are classed in class 5 that means unskilled, were 2.5 times to die before the age of 65 then the man classed in class 1 which means Professional. Children in social class V families were twice as likely to die as those in social classes I (Bartley and Blane 2008). …show more content…
Smoking
Previously, men had considerable higher smoking rates than women. However, the gender gap between men and women in smoking has changed in recent years and young girls age 15 are now more likely to smoke then boys (health knowledge 2011).
Gender
Statistic shows that in industrialised countries women lives longer then men but they intend to get ill more than a man. Most common single causes of death are in men due to ischemic heart disease and lung cancer. However, women suffer from somatic complaints with tiredness, headache, muscular aches and pains. The studies show that there are high in illness rates in women and that they are more likely to get psychological illness, anxiety, sickness absence from work, functional limitation, and depression (Bartley, 2004).
In the UK, death is more in males than in females at all ages. Through the whole of adult life, death rates are higher for men than women with the death including cancers and cardiovascular disease, car accidents and injuries in youth man, suicide, and fire flames. However, women have greatly higher rates of disability than men, particularly at older ages. Women have more morbidity from poor mental health, mainly those linked to anxiety and depressive disorder (Acheson, 1998). Alcohol
Normally men who drink more than women in all age groups and are more likely than women to exceed their recommended daily alcohol intake. But there are some women who rely on alcohol as well. Regularly drinking increases the chances of suffering more serious health harms such as, cancer of the throat, oesophagus or larynx. Regularly drinking could make three times as likely to get mouth cancer, in women, regularly drinking increases the risk of getting breast cancer and other illnesses (health knowledge 2011).
Employment
More professions usually followed by men involve direct risk to life such as dangerous machinery, weather, environmental hazards, and exposure to toxic chemicals.
However, women take works the once that are less risking of their life (health knowledge 2011).
Risk taking behaviour
Men are more likely to join in dangerous sports such as car and motorbike racing, rock climbing, jumping of the edge, rubber jump and many more.
Health risky jobs are farmer, construction workers, fire brigade, pilot and too much sitting job such as track driver or other. Men are at higher risk of road traffic injury and tend to drive more and faster when under the influence of alcohol compared to women (health knowledge 2011).
Ethnicity and Culture
Ethnicity is a huge problem in the UK and worldwide. Meanings of ethnicity change, but are likely to involve parts of race, skin colour, language, religion, nationality, country of origin, and culture. Each of these dimensions may have effects for health. For example different culture individuals are developing different types of illnesses. There are so many recorded documents that ethnic inequalities are shown in humanity (Kelly & Nazroo, 2008).
Men and women born in the Caribbean have high rates of mortality from stroke but low rates of death from coronary heart disease. Individuals born in West/South Africa have high death from stroke, but less dies from coronary heart disease. Individuals born in South Asia have high death rates from coronary heart disease and stroke. Non-white migrant groups tend to have lower death rates from respiratory disease and lung cancer but higher death rates for
diabetes. In conclusion, it doesn’t matter, how and what way we will try to fight against all of this factors above in the health sector. Or how many law we will rewrite to help as to fight against inequality. To prevent that, we have laws in UK whether will help us to fight completely, that is the question for the entire nation.
References www.clas.ufl.edu/users/amoras/newman%20chapter%2010.doc site viewed 20/04/14 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census-analysis/disability-free-life-expectancy Site viewed on 19/04/14 http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2013/05/we-must-end-ageism-and-age-discrimination-health-and-social-care 29/04/14 http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk Bradby H. (2003) Describing ethnicity in health research. Ethnicity and Health. Site viewed on 18/04/14 http://www.dohc.ie/publications/fulltext/quality_and_fairness/part1.html Site viewed on 17/04/14 http://www.thehealthculture.com Site viewed on18/04/14 http://www.theepochtimes.com Site viewed on 19/04/14 http://www.colourbox.com Site viewed on 19/04/14 http://www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/your-healthcare-rights/ageism-in-the-health-service/ site viewed 28/04/14 http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/medical-sociology-policy-economics/4c-equality-equity-policy/inequalities-distribution site viewed 29/04/14 http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/alcohol-health-harms.aspx site viewed 29/04/14
Bibliography: http://www.publications.parliament.uk Site viewed on 18/04/14 http://www.who.int/gender/genderandhealth/en/ 28/04/14
Health is not just the outcome of genetic or biological processes but is also influenced by the social and economic conditions in which we live. These influences have become known as the ‘social factors of health’. An inequality in social conditions rises to unequal and unjust health outcomes for different social groups (health knowledge 2011).
Health inequalities are not only apparent between people of different socio-economic groups but also exists between different genders, different ethnic groups, elderly, people who suffering from mental health complications or learning disabilities also people who has worse health than the rest of the population. The causes of health inequalities are complex, and include lifestyle …show more content…
factors such as smoking, nutrition, exercise, also wider determinants such as poverty, housing and education. Access to healthcare may play a role, and there are particular concerns about ‘institutional ageism’, but this appears to be less important than other causes.
Absolute and relative inequalities in health are an observed notion which refers to differences in health status between different groups.
Surely factors such as poverty, food insecurity, social exclusion and discrimination, poor housing, unhealthy early childhood conditions and low occupational status are important determinants of most diseases, deaths and health inequalities between and within countries (WHO 2004).
As well a life course perception offers a framework for understanding how these social factors of health forms and influences an individual’s health from birth to old age (health knowledge 2011).
There is range of factors which contributes to health Inequalities for example:
Social Class inequality (including income, wealth and education)
Research on socio-economic inequalities in health in the UK has a lengthy history. In the early part of the 20th century the British government introduced questions of inequality. This allowed researchers to examine health outcomes by social class. The five class scheme Registrar General’s Social Class (RGSC) which was created in 1911 and a variation of this scheme are still used till today. Back in 1972 years according to the classifications of Social Classes table shows that the man who are classed in class 5 that means unskilled, were 2.5 times to die before the age of 65 then the man classed in class 1 which means Professional. Children in social class V families were twice as likely to die as those in social classes I (Bartley and Blane 2008). …show more content…
Smoking
Previously, men had considerable higher smoking rates than women. However, the gender gap between men and women in smoking has changed in recent years and young girls age 15 are now more likely to smoke then boys (health knowledge 2011).
Gender
Statistic shows that in industrialised countries women lives longer then men but they intend to get ill more than a man. Most common single causes of death are in men due to ischemic heart disease and lung cancer. However, women suffer from somatic complaints with tiredness, headache, muscular aches and pains. The studies show that there are high in illness rates in women and that they are more likely to get psychological illness, anxiety, sickness absence from work, functional limitation, and depression (Bartley, 2004).
In the UK, death is more in males than in females at all ages. Through the whole of adult life, death rates are higher for men than women with the death including cancers and cardiovascular disease, car accidents and injuries in youth man, suicide, and fire flames. However, women have greatly higher rates of disability than men, particularly at older ages. Women have more morbidity from poor mental health, mainly those linked to anxiety and depressive disorder (Acheson, 1998). Alcohol
Normally men who drink more than women in all age groups and are more likely than women to exceed their recommended daily alcohol intake. But there are some women who rely on alcohol as well. Regularly drinking increases the chances of suffering more serious health harms such as, cancer of the throat, oesophagus or larynx. Regularly drinking could make three times as likely to get mouth cancer, in women, regularly drinking increases the risk of getting breast cancer and other illnesses (health knowledge 2011).
Employment
More professions usually followed by men involve direct risk to life such as dangerous machinery, weather, environmental hazards, and exposure to toxic chemicals.
However, women take works the once that are less risking of their life (health knowledge 2011).
Risk taking behaviour
Men are more likely to join in dangerous sports such as car and motorbike racing, rock climbing, jumping of the edge, rubber jump and many more.
Health risky jobs are farmer, construction workers, fire brigade, pilot and too much sitting job such as track driver or other. Men are at higher risk of road traffic injury and tend to drive more and faster when under the influence of alcohol compared to women (health knowledge 2011).
Ethnicity and Culture
Ethnicity is a huge problem in the UK and worldwide. Meanings of ethnicity change, but are likely to involve parts of race, skin colour, language, religion, nationality, country of origin, and culture. Each of these dimensions may have effects for health. For example different culture individuals are developing different types of illnesses. There are so many recorded documents that ethnic inequalities are shown in humanity (Kelly & Nazroo, 2008).
Men and women born in the Caribbean have high rates of mortality from stroke but low rates of death from coronary heart disease. Individuals born in West/South Africa have high death from stroke, but less dies from coronary heart disease. Individuals born in South Asia have high death rates from coronary heart disease and stroke. Non-white migrant groups tend to have lower death rates from respiratory disease and lung cancer but higher death rates for
diabetes. In conclusion, it doesn’t matter, how and what way we will try to fight against all of this factors above in the health sector. Or how many law we will rewrite to help as to fight against inequality. To prevent that, we have laws in UK whether will help us to fight completely, that is the question for the entire nation.
References www.clas.ufl.edu/users/amoras/newman%20chapter%2010.doc site viewed 20/04/14 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census-analysis/disability-free-life-expectancy Site viewed on 19/04/14 http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2013/05/we-must-end-ageism-and-age-discrimination-health-and-social-care 29/04/14 http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk Bradby H. (2003) Describing ethnicity in health research. Ethnicity and Health. Site viewed on 18/04/14 http://www.dohc.ie/publications/fulltext/quality_and_fairness/part1.html Site viewed on 17/04/14 http://www.thehealthculture.com Site viewed on18/04/14 http://www.theepochtimes.com Site viewed on 19/04/14 http://www.colourbox.com Site viewed on 19/04/14 http://www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/your-healthcare-rights/ageism-in-the-health-service/ site viewed 28/04/14 http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/medical-sociology-policy-economics/4c-equality-equity-policy/inequalities-distribution site viewed 29/04/14 http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/alcohol-health-harms.aspx site viewed 29/04/14
Bibliography: http://www.publications.parliament.uk Site viewed on 18/04/14 http://www.who.int/gender/genderandhealth/en/ 28/04/14