Are The Primary Direct Cause Of Diseases And Avoidable Mortality?

Socioeconomic status and gender is considered a cause of racial disparities in health since it constrains access to power, social and psychological resources, and economic capital. Those with low socioeconomic status and in segregated areas have less access to quality elementary and high school education since they normally have less qualified teachers, lower test scores, and fewer connections to colleges. These individuals also experience less employment opportunities because employers discriminate based on the residence of the job applicants since they view individuals in low-income areas as being drug users, having poor communication skills, low reading levels, and family issues. This leaves the residents in racially segregated neighborhoods jobless so they cannot increase their socioeconomic status (Takeuchi et al. 2010). The state of poverty is likely to continue for these individuals because they do not possess the necessary means to reduce their

The population of the poor in the United States represents roughly 15 percent of the total population (Macionis 2013:41). As of 2012, the poorest 20 percent of the United States only represents 3.8 percent of total income earned (Macionis 2013:35). People do not choose to be poor, and most of those who are impoverished try to overcome this challenge. However, there is a trend that is evident and is continuously noticed in society. Those who live in poverty experience worse health care, education, social status, and wages than the upper class. I believe socioeconomic status serves a large role in whether an individual is likely to experience poor health. Policies that increase unemployment insurance or allocate for equal distribution of wealth and opportunity are viable solutions to socioeconomic inequality (Babones 2010:141). The social conflict theory best explains the socioeconomic inequality in the United States and helps sociologists interpret how inequality causes increased health issues for the lower class.

Keleher & MacDougall (2016, p.20) define the social determinants of health as “the fundamental structures of social hierarchy and the social, economic and politically determined conditions that result in good health, ill health or disease, and in which people grow, live, work and age”.

The social determinants of health topic area within healthy people 2020 are designed to identify ways to create social and physical environments that promote good health for all. Healthy attitudes start from homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities. People practice good behavior by eating well, exercising, getting scheduled immunizations to prevent infectious diseases, drinking clean water, breathing air free of pollution, attending checkups with medical doctors and going for disease screening (Healthy People, 2014). The quality of our schooling, the safety of workplaces, our social interactions and relationships, explain in part why Americans are healthier than others. The determinants of health fall under several categories

The higher the socioeconomic status an individual is equivalent to the goal of reaching the goal of excellent health, whereas, those who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic status ladder are more likely to have poorer health. The article on Social Determinants of Health status states that “socioeconomic status has been a fundamental cause of disease, and poverty and therefore, has a powerful effect on health.” People who cannot afford nutritious food are more than likely to buy more processed or cheap junk food.  An excerpt of an autobiography Hillbilly Elegy explains this predicament as the author watched people buy groceries as a cashier, “Some folks purchased a lot of canned and frozen food, while others consistently arrived at the checkout

Two main determinants of health in this article are behaviors of the community and socioeconomic status of the community. The behaviors include injection drug use and needles because theses actions bring about a change in health for the user (Friis & Sellers, 2014). Many drug users were sharing needles spreading diseases such as AIDS and causing the largest HIV outbreak that Indiana had ever experienced (Harper, 2015). Another determinant would be the socioeconomic status of the population at risk. A poor socioeconomic status is a social determinant of their disease because it gave them fewer options with less accessibility to health care and

Socioeconomic status is a major determinate of health even more than race or gender. (Umberson 150) For example, when the middle class families have to work two jobs and living in a community that not safe would decrease the risk of illness. The biological reaction is a stress and this is happening “when we feel threatened or do not have control in our lives” ( 24) When individual have chronical stress all the time as the one in the people in the poor communities, the high risk of illness would be dangerous. “The accumulation of stressors or the

The social/ecological model of public health is a multilevel system that emphasizes on the linkages among several factors or determinants affecting health from an individual level to a larger social network (Coreil, 2010). This model is organized according to five hierarchical levels of influence: intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and society (Coreil, 2010). Intrapersonal level can include biological and psychological factors such as genetics, cognition, and personality; interpersonal level is identified as home, family, and peer group influences; organizational level include work and school settings, civic associations, and health care organization; the community level is identified with factors such as ethnicity, social class, social capital, public facilities, and built environments; at last, the society level include policy issues, national ethos and cultural values, infrastructure, economics, and education (Coreil, 2010). The social/ecological model is important in public health because it looks and examines a health problem or an individual’s outcome on a bigger context, and helps organize and identify opportunity for interventions and how effective these interventions can affect the public’s health.

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.

Magnitude of Problem: Many of us aren’t aware the current health status is indicative of society’s overall health condition currently; however, it is worth noting that the past health status or current health status is not indicative of future health status. The magnitude of this problem is exacerbate by income and poverty rates across the United States. Compelling data have shown that Americans of lower socioeconomic status (SES) are at greater risk of getting high blood pressure, getting obese, getting heart disease, getting chronic diseases, and getting mental infirmity.

Fundamental cause theory directly affects the CVD risk in that the factors listed above: education, health insurance, unemployment, and wealth are all factors that tie to SES. With a low SES (socioeconomic status), fundamental cause theory shows the relationship between the amount of individuals experiencing the illness or disease to their SES score. Fundamental cause theory also represents the fact that you cannot make choices outside of the available resources to the individual. Learned effectiveness is a theory that represents root cause but in relation to the causation of the lack of resources available rather than the causation of the actual disease. Learned effectiveness, in this case, shows that the individuals without agency (control) are not as likely to be able to relieve stress, which can lead to many other severe health issues. By having agency, the individuals are able to control their environment, which allows for a reduction in stress as well as often an increased financial status. This then will tie back in to the initial issue of the risks of CVD and allow for the resources necessary for

Health Behaviours can be split into three types, as defined by Kasl and Cobb (1966). Firstly, health behaviour is a behaviour directed to avoid disease such as having a balanced diet. Secondly, illness behaviour is aimed at seeking remedy such as visiting the doctor, and thirdly is sick role behaviour which is an activity aimed at overcoming illness. Further explanation by Matarzzo (1984) includes health impairing behaviour to account for choices we make such as smoking or drinking which can affect our heath. Social contexts have previously been associated with health inequalities using measures such as class, environment and education and socio-economic status (SES) (Lynch, 1997; Adler, 1999; Adler 2002). Here this essay will aim to discuss how living in certain social contexts can constrain our health behaviour choice, but also argue how other factors such as gender and availability of medical interventions affect these choices too.

There are many factors that are connected together to affect an individual’s health. There are several broad categories that factor in the determinants of health such as, policymaking, health services, gender, income, social status, social factors, health services, individual behavior, biology and genetics. Determining health exceeds the borders of health care and public health sectors, areas such as education, transportation, agriculture, environment, and housing can help improve health. Policies such as increasing taxes on cigarettes can help decrease the amount of smokers. The higher one’s income, social status and their education, the better their health is. The greater a person’s support system the more they use their healthcare access

The aim of this essay is to examine the influence that socio-economic status has on an individual’s health.

There have been many studies conducted on socioeconomic status and the prediction of morbidity and mortality. It tends to have a huge affect on how individuals maintain their everyday lives. “Socioeconomic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation. It is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or class of an individual or group. When viewed through a social class lens, privilege, power, and control are emphasized. Furthermore, an examination of SES as a gradient or continuous variable reveals inequities in access to and distribution of resources. SES is relevant to all realms of behavioral and social science, including research, practice, education, and advocacy” (American Psychological Association, 2014). A person’s socioeconomic status includes variables that impact their susceptibility to contracting certain diseases, some of those variables including their income, occupation, and education. For example, someone who lives in a low income area may not have enough money to supply their everyday needs. That individual may only have enough money to eat what they can afford and not eat healthier foods (sometimes higher priced), which could lead to future health problems. Another example would be someone who has minimal education. There is a huge gap between an individual with a bachelor’s degree and someone with only a high school diploma. As we all know, earnings increase with the amount of education one has, which