An Insight Into Their Individual Effects On A Person 's Health

Health status improves at each step up the income and social hierarchy. High income determines living conditions such as safe housing and ability to buy sufficient good food. The healthiest populations are those in societies which are prosperous and have an equitable distribution of wealth.

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘health’ is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). The health and wellbeing of individuals is generally determined by their circumstances and environment, a phenomenon referred to as the social determinants of health. WHO describes the social determinants of health as:

Communities are sometimes largely unaware that social factors rather than medical ones, such as income, and employment status, shape our health. Our health is also determined by the health and social services we receive, and our ability to attain high education levels, food and safe housing, among other factors.

Health has been influenced by many factors such as poor health status, disease risk factors, and limited access to healthcare. All these factors are due to social, economic and environmental disadvantages. According to the World Organization (WHO) (2015), “the social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities, which is the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries”

Health as a whole is determined by the quality of life, as well as an individuals’ ability to create personal positive social and physical environments. These environments include homes, schools, workplaces and the community as a whole. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2003), the social determinants of health are conditions in which people live, work, and grow, where these factors are influenced by money, power and available resources. There are five main aspects of social determinants: economic stability, social/community health, general health, education, and the surrounding built environment, where each determinant refers to multiple key issues. These determinants commonly affect health, the functioning of people, their quality of life, as well as social, economic and physical risks. Examples of social determinants include:

Income and social status is one of the determinants of health. Being able to have a secured, low cost housing that provides for every individual or family during their whole lifetime is a major determinant of health and is important to good health. As Dr. David Hulchanski and colleague’s research “Three Cities” at the University of Toronto stated; “Housing insecurity is linked to income insecurity which is, in turn, leads to illness and premature death” (RNAO,2013). People who live in the street are more susceptible to physical and mental problem and are likely to die early due to sickness compared to general population. Homeless population are vulnerable to communicable diseases and substance abuse and this may jeopardize their health situation (RNAO, 2013). Health conditions become better as income and social status improve. Higher income means the affordability of an individual for a better way of life and providing their family a safe and secured environment. Being able to afford enough nutritious food on the table to share with the whole family is one of the most important things that an individual can hope for. In most cases, higher income and social status means more control and choices in their everyday lives. Some studies show that restricted options and poor coping skills while handling stress raises exposure that can lead to different kinds of diseases involving immune and hormonal systems. According to

Although seen within and between countries are the social determinates of health which are the unjust and avoidable differences in health status( National Rural Health Alliance 2016). The social determinates of health are the reason for increased health issues worldwide.

The geographic-level aspects involve a range of dimensions, ranging from physical characteristics of the area – such as location and climate (Bloom and Sachs 1998, APUD Wagstaff, 2001), to the infrastructure offered (Macintyre et. al., 2002) such as health services (quantity and quality), sanitation, water supply, roads, and so forth. One interesting hypothesis is that the presence of favorable aspects, like low crime rates, street cleanness and lightening, recreation places, among other “amenities” in the region under analysis mitigate the effects of unfavorable individual circumstances over health; whereas the adverse ones, such as pollution, lack of sanitation or low accessibility to urban facilities, amplify the already perverse influence of deprived individual characteristics on health status (Macintyre et. al., 2002; Kennedy et al., 1998). In California, for instance, Haan, Kaplan and Camacho (1987) found that people from poor areas experienced higher mortality rates (after controlling proper age, race and sex) than the population from non-poverty areas. Such risk of death persisted even after socioeconomic and behavioral adjustments. Similar findings have been reported by Humphries and Carr-Hill (1991); Jones and Duncan (1995) and Duncan et.al. (1993), supporting the hypothesis of the social environment´s influence over health, independently of the individual-level.

Social determinants of health encompasses ethnicity, gender and social class. It is seen as the essential

There are many socio-economic factors that are likely to influence current health. If people are living in poor housing conditions which could mean that their health might not be so good, they could be given housing benefits to improve the conditions. If the area where you are living, the environment might not be very good, like the waste management could be bad. To stop this from

These disparities are obvious in some key measures of wellbeing including life expectancy, the risk for disease, and access to health care (Disparities in Health, 2015). Historically, the major factors contributing to shorter longevity and high rates of disease are overcrowding, poor sanitation and low availability of treatment facilities. However, the change of theses socioeconomic

Throughout society there are many different sociological approaches to health and ill health. Within society there are many different perspectives towards whom the responsibility for health falls upon and also what defines people as ill? Your health is defined by the general condition of your body and mind. An illness is defined by an impairment of normal physical or mental function. To help explain the different sociological approaches to health and ill health I will be referring to the case study of Aziz and Tamsela. Aziz and Tamsela have four young children; Tamsela’s elderly parents also live with them in their three bedroomed houses in a deprived and depressing area of London. Their house is in desperate need of repair; it is damp and

Findings from Mirowsky and Ross (2010:39-44) show that individuals also bring whom a decent income are able to provide themselves and their families with a good house. They are able to have a nice home, private health insurance, and greater health outcomes. These points are compared to someone who has a poor living arrangement, public health insurance, and poor health outcomes.

This essay will discuss ways in which a person’s socioeconomic class and his/her social situation can have an impact on his/her health, using examples. We believe that there is a direct link between socioeconomic/social class and health (Adler et al. 1994). I will be defining the key terms: socioeconomic and health, social class then proceed to discuss about how poverty, income, employability, environment and housing can impact on a person’s social situation and their health.

Class plays a major contributor to the standard of health children bring into the education sector, those from working class families tend to have a lower standard of health than those in middle class families (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997). This is due to a number of reasons, all resulting back to the limited access working class families have to needed amenities. Working class are likely to have a limited access to healthy foods, as these foods are typically more expensive (Stephens, Markus, Fryberg, 2012). Therefore, these families receive little nutritional food, which leads to a large amount of diseases and unhealthy habits. Housing also impacts on the health of children which influences on the education sector. This is because working class tends to only have access to a lower quality of housing, these may be houses that are potentially damp, and cold (Childrens Commissioner, 2010). This leads to an unhealthy environment, which causes the children and families to be unwell, therefore lowering their standard of health. Working class also have less access to services such as health care and services (Childrens Commissioner, 2010). Therefore, they are less likely to rebound as quickly from illness, as those in middle class would, with a large access to healthcare. These issues have a significant effect on the health of the children, and therefore on the education sector, as it leads