Social Inequalities Affect Health Health And Social Care Essay

Social Inequalities Affect wellness Health And Social Cargon EssaySocial inequalities in wellness contribute been widely accepted and document (Fox, 1989 Davey-Smith et al., 1990 Macintyre, 1997 Marmot et al., 1997), and have been particularly apparent in The Black Report (Townsend and Davidson, 1982) which has revealed wide disparities (health gap) in the midst of people at opposite ends of the mixer strata, that are widely increasing in the UK (Marmot and McDowell, 1986 Macintyre, 1997) and the US (Papas et al, 1993).A burgeoning volume of query identifies social factors at the root of much of these health inequalities, for instance, researchers have found health to be socially patterned ( side erect), where individuals at high ends of the social class experience better health and subsist longer, than their counterparts (Acheson 1998 Adler et al., 1998) and this has been consistent, withal when controlling for other factors (Lantz et al., 1998).Thus, if one moves up th e social strata, the better ones health (Kitagawa Hauser, 1973).Social sparing place (SES) has been apply to prize ones social position as a reliable method, and many fictional characters of approaches have been used to valuate SES, including occupation, household in survey or level of achieved education (Mackenbach and Kunst, 1997). Research has found that Individuals with a low SES have a tear down fatality step rate (Benzeval, 1995) and experience greater disability and ill health (Dalstra et al., 2005 Huisman et al., 2005 Marmot, Bosma, Hemingway, Brunner, Stansfeld, 1997 Marmot, Rose, Shipley, Hamilton, 1978). divest individuals may excessively have a greater propensity to develop diabetes, develop burncer, elevator cardiovascular disease, asthma, morbific diseases and all causes of fatality rate and even die, as a gist of homicide (Adler and Ostrove, 1999 Ecob Smith, 1999 Schalick, Hadden, Pamuk, Navarro, Pappas, 2000 Sterling, Rosenbaum, Weinkam, 1993). Th us, ill-health can therefore restrict prospects of economic attainment (Adler et al, 1994 Marmot et al, 1997).One reason for this could be that people have to put up with distressinger living conditions, which could result in them being exposed to hazardous and un sizeable environments i.e. pollution, noise, toxic waste, crowding, ambient noise and poor living accommodations quality, which are connect with poor health and disease (Evans and Kantrovitz, 2002).Whilst individuals of a higher(prenominal) (SES) have a bring down risk of exposure to negative life events (Mcleod and Kessler, 1990) hence, decreasing their vulnerability of suffering chronic or swell illness (Cohen and Williamson, 1991).It is also been found that Children of less(prenominal) affluent families are less probably to succeed at school (Essen and Wedge, 1982), to be employed in more disadvantaged eye sockets, and go with unemployment much in the front place in their lives (Ashton et al1987). This can le ad smoking, drinking, depression, anxiety, and poor health behaviours (Wilson and Walker, 1993)One other explanation for this inequality is that deprived individuals display more risk taking behaviours, such as bad diet, smoking and being physically inactive. However, this view is non always supported, and researchers have found little or no relationship (OMalley et al., 1993 Donato et al., 1994).A growing personate of research has also acknowledged the relationship surrounded by income inequality on individual health (Kawachi, 2002 Wilkinson, 1996), for example, low income has been correlated to level a risk factor for disease and ill-health (Syme, 1998), and according to the telling income hypothesis, people from a low SES are more accustomed to experience poor health if they happen disadvantaged than others (Marmot et al., 1991 Wilkinson, 1997). They are also more likely to experience depression and stress (Cohen et al., 1997) and this may later on hinder or weaken ones p ower to assess local health-related resources (Deaton, 2003).Theseconsequences of income inequality can profess individuals significantly, resulting in frustration, stress and disruption, which can subsequently increase the rates of crime, violence and homicide (Wilkinson, 1996). Education also influences health through its relation with higher income (Chevalier et al, 2005) and better living environment, as those with a higher educational attainment are less likely to be unemployed, and more likely to have careers with higher earnings (Ross Wu, 1995). bring forwardmore, individuals with higher levels of educational attainment have shown to having certain mental mechanisms, such as social support, economic resources and a secure sense of personal control, which are associated with a higher mortality rate and higher health precondition. (Kunst Mackenbach, 1994 Elo Preston, 1996).Parents educational attainment is also significant, as this can directly impact the Childs future h ealth via primary socialisation for example, Blackburn et al (2003) have found that higher levels of maternal education are associated with lower levels of household smoking, and hence, lower levels of tobacco exposure to children.An individuals health outcome can also be simulateed by the type of occupation, for example, The Black Report (Townsend and Davison, 1982) discovered that unskilled manual workers (social class V) regularly suffered from poorer health than those classified as professionals (Social class I). The Whitehall studies were particularly important in highlighting this association, researchers looked at British civil servants, and discovered higher mortality rates were found to be correlated with lower hierarchal rank (Marmot, 2004), and this social gradient was go on refined and supported by Siegrist Marmot (2006).In addition, a strong inverse association was found, between the grade of employment and absenteeism as a result of health status (Stansfield et al , 1995).The type and quality of the line the individual has can also have a fundamental battle to their health, i.e. through occupational hazards and unguaranteed and physically demanding work environments (Lucas, 1974). It can also impact ones health indirectly through income security, or psychological or social mechanisms. Furthermore, Lower employment grades have showed almost three times greater occurrences of coronary thrombosis heart disease (CHD) and lung cancer than those individuals in the highest employment grades (Marmot, 1986). Thus, one may conclude that the association between grade and type of work is apparent, and the environment of individuals in lower classs may not always be conducive to good health.An increasing amount of research asserts that health outcomes and health-related behaviour are directly linked with area of residence (Collins, Margo, 2000 Cubbin, Hadden, Winkleby, 2001 Guest, Almgren, Hussey, 1998 Jones and Moon, 1993 MacIntyre, MacIver Sooma n, 1993 Pickett and Pearl, 2001 Ren, Amick, Williams, 1999 Shaw et al, 1999).People living in Disadvantaged areas usually experience poorer health (Townsend et al., 1988) and increasingly show higher levels of morbidity and mortality than individuals living in more prosperous areas (Achenson, 1998 Mackenbach, Kunst, Cavelaars, Groenhof, Geurts, 1997 Marmot and McDowell, 1986 Townsend, Whitehead, Davidson, 1992).An example of this was seen in the mortality rates ,in different Scottish postal code areas, which revealed a constant gradient of increased mortality from the most affluent, to the most disadvantaged areas, based on social class, male unemployment, household overcrowding and access to car (Carstairs and Morris, 1991).The Health Divide (Whitehead,1988), revealed gain ground discrepancies, where a North South health divide in the UK was found, and a higher prevalence of ill health become apparent in the industrialised North (Sidell, 2003). Further health inequalities exist ing, as a result of area of residence, was seen in Mexico, where a nine year difference in life expectancy was reported between people living in a poor county, and those in a relatively well-off county (Evans et al., 2001).Implications of living in a less affluent area can also impact the mortality risk for those individuals, of even a higher SES (Yen and Kapplan, 1999a). However, those who perceive themselves to live in deprived neighbourhoods are inclined to have more negative health signs i.e. high body mass index. A lower effective efficacy has also been reported amongst low income residents, whereby individuals perceive less cohesion and social control this may impact the individual mentally i.e. depression (Cohen et al, 2003 Schafer-McDaniel, 2009) and even terminate physical activity.Another barrier to health and its resultant inequalities is heathenishity/race. Ethnic minority groups have an increased rate of health inequalities, which have social consequences, (higher ra tes of coronary heart disease and diabetes), for example, research by Keppel, Pearcy and Wagener (2002) showed African-Americans in the United States experienced greater levels of illness (breast/lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and infant mortality rates) than other racial/ethnic minority groups.Morbidity rates have also been found to be higher for Bangladeshi and Pakistani minority groups, although findings did not generalise to Indian adults, who were found to have a similar health status to white adults (Cooper, 2002).These ethnic disparities have also been seen in the US where blacks seem to have worse health outcomes than whites, for instance, black women were more likely to have a child with a lower birth load than their white counterparts (David and Collins, 1997).Despite these risk factors, discrimination and prejudice faced by ethnic minority groups further increases their chances of illness and death (Williams and Jackson, 2005). For instance, Smaje (1995) and Modood et al., (1997) found that black people in ethnic minority groups suffered greater textile disadvantage as a result of discrimination. Less affluent individuals can also be prone to develop mental health problems, as a result of their status. Many studies have looked at the effect of SES, and deprivationin relation to mental health (Thornicroft, 1991 Jarman et al, 1992 Harrison et al, 1995). Evidence has shown the incidence of mental illness, is more articulate in the lower socio-economic groups, for example, it was found that working class women were more likely to suffer from mental health problems i.e. bipolar disorder than middle-class women (Brown and Harris, 1978) A positive association between deprivation, low SES and schizophrenia was further emphasised in Rogers (1991) who reported low SES women were more likely to develop neurotic diagnoses, and those who suffered from poverty, were more likely to have an increased risk to develop bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, phobias , depression and suffer from drug related problems (Bruce, 1991).Reasons for these social inequalities existing are multifaceted, and a matter for continuing debate, however, The Black Report (Townsend and Davidson, 1982) outlined four explanations, the first being Artefact, This points out that inequalities in health are demonstrated using different measuring systems to assess social class, and so, associations are resulting from artefacts (Davey Smith et al, 1991). However, this account has been largely dismissed as evidence has visibly shown a health inconsistency across occupational groups. Furthermore, these inequalities have been verified using different forms of measurement to assess social class i.e. educational attainment and occupation. Thus, this explanation does not present a superior purpose to the complexities of health inequalities in society, and so cannot be sustained.An alternative method of beg offing social inequalities comes from social selection this suggest s healthy individuals move up (social mobilisation) the hierarchy, whilst individuals with poor health escalate downwards-which could be due unemployment, demotion, or disability (Moore and Porter, 1998).However, there is little evidence supports the view of social selection in relation to health inequalities (Whitehead, 1988) for example, Illness does affect social mobility however, the size of the effect is very little to actually account for overall health differences (Wilkinson, 1997).The cultural behavioural explanation stipulates that health inequalities occur as a result of individual preferences and lifestyles, comprising of drinking, smoking, diet and role (Blaxter, 1990) and cultural factors. These health behaviors have been linked to death (i.e. lung cancer, coronary heart disease), and a social gradient has been found (Wardle and Griffith, 2001).Whilst there is a causal effect for mortality and morbidity, with health behaviours (i.e. smoking, diet), this explanation doe s not carry of a complete explanation of inequalities, for instance, controlling for the risk factors of smoking, cholesterol and blood pressure (Whitehall studies) did not explain the increase in CHD mortality amongst administrative and other grades, Nevertheless they did account for about 25% of the disparity (Rose Marmot, 1981). This explanation can further be criticised as it tends to classify health behaviours as being synonymic with cultural influences, and fails to acknowledge other variables, it also associates ethnic groups with a pattern of behaviour which may not necessarily signify wide-spread health patterns in cultural groups.Another approach to explain inequalities in health is the materialistic/structural, whichhas been supported by many researchers (Acheson, 1998 Gordon, Shaw, Dorling Davey Smith 1999 Townsend, Davidson, Whitehead, 1992). This approach states that inequalities are a result of poor access to material and physical resources (Raphael, 2006). Thes e include housing, working conditions, quality of available food, among others. Thus, research has consistently shown that social health inequalities exist and need to be dealt with. Health psychologists have played an important part in exposing the individual determinants of health related experiences and behaviour. In particular, highlighting the plight of these psychological and social factors. Therefore, acknowledging these health determinants can be significant in potentially reducing or even diminishing these health disparities, as awareness and research are significant to public health intervention.The benefits of such research are also advantageous, as it highlights that an individual is not alone responsible for their own health, but a number of factors come in to play. Moreover, future research can thus investigate these social determinants, in particular, distinguishing between factors that affect health and those that form health inequalities. For instance, education as a social factor impinges on health but it is the lack of access to it and associated illiteracy that lead to inequalities.