Childhood Development And The Social Determinants Of Health Essay

Poverty is not simply a deficiency in material resources, it is the complex situation of low income that limits ones access to many of the social determinants of health such as safe and suitable housing, food, child care, education, and can lead to social exclusion (Séguin et al, 2012). The experience of poverty in childhood, particularly early childhood, has been linked to many adverse health effects such as low birth weight, increased incidence of asthma, injuries, mental health issues and obesity (Sharma & Ford-Jones, 2015). The impact of childhood poverty continues into adulthood, increasing the risk of many chronic diseases. Perhaps even

According to the dictionary, the word health is “the state of being free from illness.” At a first glance, this defination seems to be very direct and simple, however the meaning of the word ‘health’ nowadays is much more complex. The above definition pretty much sums up our view of health in the first half of the 20th century.

This essay will explore housing as a social determinant of health and the effects it has on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of families, communities and individuals. Poor housing and poverty may be a result of overcrowding, dampness, mould, insufficient heating and poor ventilation. It can have detrimental effects on the behaviour of individuals, how families cooperate and friendliness within communities. Poor housing can cause anything from colds and flus to cardiovascular disease but also may affect mental health. This may lead to individuals experiencing depression and anxiety. It is also common for children’s development to be disrupted due to poor housing and poverty. Different housing-related conditions results in different physical and mental health illnesses for different age groups, for example, overcrowding affecting the respiratory system is more common in childhood whereas insufficient heating having a negative affect and causing excess winter deaths is prone to those age 65 and over.

| There are also important class inequalities between children, for example, poor mothers are more likely to have low birth-weight babies, which is linked to delayed physical and intellectual development. Also, children born into poor families are more likely to die in infancy or childhood, suffer longstanding illnesses, fall behind in school, or to be placed on the child protection register

They are going through transitions in intellectual development and the process and transition of primary to secondary education.’ There are various intellectual skills that an adolescent will learn within this life stage. When in the adolescent life stage, the emotional development norms for an individual is to learn their personal identity and they must leant about who they are about how to control their emotions within the change of puberty. Low self-esteem and confidence issue is often something most teenagers struggle with. With adolescence secondary learning occurs, a person’s self-worth can change within this life-stage due to the social situations that an individual had to be within, also their use of clothing, language and religion etc. The introduction of hormones can often change how teenagers see themselves. Adolescent’s independence that they go through can affect their social and emotional development.

The environment inside the mother’s womb can indeed have a dramatic influence on the development of a child but environment influences such as where the child is raised can have a huge affect on a child development as well. Children of a low income tend to live in more polluted areas, where the air and the water are polluted, pollution can cause brain development in children as well lung diseases that can be development in childhood or can affect them later in life. One the factors that can have a huge impact on a child’s life is housing. Those on a low income are more likely to be living in poor housing conditions experiencing stress from overcrowding including noise, lack of privacy, having to wait to use facilities such as the toilets, poor heating and ventilation in winter, poor washing and cooking facilities, the house can have many hazards for a child due to architectural features, dampness, as well the neighbourhood cannot be safe or have poor facilities such as shops and parking. Poor housing is associated with poor health this is due of poor facilities and opportunities, children that grow up within poor housing are more

There has always been a link between social class and health, even with the welfare state and the improvements made to health in all sections of societies over the years, a difference still remains in this area. This difference is applied to all aspects of health, which include life expectancy, general levels of health and infant mortality. Many people argue that as long as the quality of life is

In addition, many families do not make sufficient income to provide adequate food, housing or health care, and so then health conditions are drastically different than those of the upper class. According to Mantsios, Lower-class standing is correlated with higher rates of infant mortality, eye and ear disease, arthritis, physical disability, diabetes, nutritional deficiency, respiratory

When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors. They are even capable of understanding and dealing with

Being born into a certain social class may affect your health drastically, a child born in the lower end of the social systems is twice as likely to die in the first few months of their life than a child born in the professional class (6). (See appendix1.1) The well being of a child is also at risk when born lower down in the social scale, their vaccinations and dentist visits are limited. (See appendix1.2)

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.

Children are faced with many consequences due to growing up in poverty. Most children who live in poverty go to poor unsuitable schools, live in unexceptable housing, and grow up around more violence and crime than any other parent would wish for their child. As soon as the child is born into poverty, they begin to feel the effects of it. They tend to have low birth weight and contain a higher risk of dying during infancy. We watched a video in class that showed that poverty could take a toll on the child’s learning capabilities, and health status. There were stories of children with hyperactivity problems, chronic ear infections which caused hearing loss, and even children who were not receiving the proper amount of nutrients to be able to grow and function correctly. The first years of a child’s life are the most crucial because most of the development of the brain occurs then.

Health is another issue that has been examined as a potential effect of living in poverty. A large amount of literature links low income to child health problems with studies showing that children in poverty are at a greater risk of infant, child and adolescent deaths (Children’s Defense Fund, 1994) along with malnutrition (Miller & Korenman, 1994) and numerous other health issues. These health issues can also be linked to the low quality living environment, as children in poverty are more likely to be exposed to toxins such as lead along with poorer air and water quality. These have been found to lead to cognitive deficits in children (Holgate, Samet, Koren, & Maynard, 1999).

Rowlingson (2011) agrees with Wilkinson and Pickett that there is indeed a strong correlation between income and health and social problems. In her report she includes the ‘Marmot Review’ (Marmot, 2010) which shows evidence that people living in England in the poorest areas compared to those living in the richest will, on average, die 7 years earlier. This suggests a clear link between class and health. The report further notes other additional factors, such as infant mortality, and mental and physical well being go hand in hand with inequality.

Life chances in terms of health for the lower social class mean that they are more likely to get ill. This happens as they cannot manage to pay for the suitable clothing, heating in the cold weather, living in overcrowded conditions and poor diet. In terms of education attainment children who are born in the family that is classified as higher class achieve better results in school compared to those in lower social class. Furthermore, the children that belong to the parents of higher class are more likely to get better education (through private schools/institutions), this increases their chances of employment with high income (Haralambos & Holborn, 2000).