Vulnerable Population; Poor

Vulnerable Population: The Poor “A vulnerable population is a group or groups that are more likely to develop health- related problems, have more difficulty accessing health care to address those health problems, and are more likely to experience a poor outcome or shorter life span because of those health conditions.” (Maurer & Smith,2009, pp. 533) Poverty is linked with marked deprivation of well-being of an individual due to inability to meet basic needs. It could be due to lack of income or resources to buy goods and services or inability to access them. Thus poor people in the population are considered vulnerable as socioeconomic status is closely linked to a person’s health status. People who are poor or belong to low income group have difficulty in providing basic necessities of life e.g. food, clothing, and shelter for themselves and their families. They lack resources and opportunities to improve their quality of life. Their behavior and choices are determined by their socioeconomic status. In United States poverty is determined by comparing annual income to threshold which is set of dollar value that vary by family size, number of children and age of householders. If a family’s income is below their threshold that family is considered to be in poverty including all members. (Bishaw, & Macartney, 2010) According to the United States Census Bureau in the year 2011 the poverty rate was 15% indicating 46.2 million people in poverty range. People living in poverty tend to live in certain neighborhoods rather than evenly distributing in different neighborhoods. This increases burden on families beyond their circumstances because disadvantageous neighborhood brings more problems in their lives. Resources in these areas are scarce as the area becomes disadvantageous banks, stores; shopping places or new business doesn’t go in these areas because they don’t see any profit. There is lack of good public schools, housing and sanitation are inadequate,

References: Bishaw, A. United States census Bureau, (2011). Areas with concentrated poverty: 2006–2010 American community survey briefs (ACSBR/10-17). Retrieved from website: http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-17.pdf Bishaw, A., & Macartney, S. United States census Bureau, (2010). Poverty: 2008 and 2009 American community survey briefs (ACSBR/09-1). Retrieved from website: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acsbr09-1.pdf Documentary series: Unnatural causes [Web]. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/video_clips.php Maurer, F., & Smith, C. (2009). Community/ public health nursing practice: health for families and population. (Fourth ed., Chapter 21). Saunders.