Health Determinants Of Health: A Case Study

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing, and not just the absence of disease” (WHO, 1974). Health inequalities are the differences in health or healthcare opportunities in different societies this may be due to income,

In the “Marmot Review: Fair Society Healthy Lives” written by “Professor Michael Marmot” himself, he proposes the most effective evidence-based strategies for reducing health inequalities in England. Inequality is unjust and unfair and therefore it is a matter of social justice in cases where everyone has an equal,social, political and economical rights and opportunities.He simply stated that to reduce the steepness of the gradient sufficiently “actions must be universal, but with a scale and intensity that is proportionate to the level of disadvantage” Even though resources may be scarce and it is tempting to focus these limited resources on the most needy, we are eliminating some parts of the society and therefore only tackling a small part of the overall problem. Part of his solution was to “implement an evidence-based programme of ill health preventive interventions that are effective across the social gradient such as Increasing and improving the scale and quality of treatment programmes and focusing on public health interventions such as smoking cessation programmes on reducing the social gradient” Michael Marmot also raises the benefits to which reducing health inequalities will help the economy as well as socially. “It is estimated that inequality in illness accounts for productivity losses of £31-33 billion per year, lost taxes and higher welfare payments in the range of £20-32 billion per

According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 1978), health can be defined not only in terms of absence of disease, injury or infirmity, but also, as a state of mental, physical and social well-being. Over the last decades, many studies have emphasized the role of social circumstances on health status. The tight link between health and a wide range of socioeconomic, environmental and demographics factors have been increasingly recognized and proffer an alternative perspective on how to consider public health, social justice and even restructuring of the health care system (Daniels et. al., 2004). The increasingly acknowledgement that health is also a result of cumulative experience of social conditions and exposure to environmental

Health is dynamic and determined by the determinants of health that have factors that can both benefit and hinder our overall health (Liamputtong, Fanany, & Verrinder, 2012, p. 9). The primary health care (PHC) principles accessibility, inter-sectorial collaboration, appropriate technology, emphasis on health promotion and public participation helps all individuals at different social standings based on income levels and geographical location determined by the social determinants of health to access PHC and make an equitable health care system (McMurray & Clendon, 2011, pp. 36-44; Liamputtong, Fanany, & Verrinder, 2012, pp. 13-14).

Evidence show that people from lower class backgrounds and ethnic minority’s backgrounds are more likely to suffer more health problems to the majority ethnic group this shows a pattern of inequality.

classes are perhaps not as clear as they used to be. But it is just as

For a better understanding of the policies, it is necessary to define the term health inequality. The term health inequality is defined as a differences in health status or the differences among the different populations (WHO, 2015). The purpose of a policy to address health inequality is to reduce the gaps in the differences that arises due to race, gender, and ethnicity (Healthy people, 2015). For example, health policies help to promote healthy behavior and ban cigarette and tobacco advertisements (WHO, 2015). There are policies that do not focus on such practices and thus they do not impact the people (WHO, 2015). Furthermore, creating a policy helps people to meet the goals of reducing health disparity (WHO, 2015). There has been a national level policy named “Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation”, which aims to improve health for the population in England (WHO, 2015). By implementing

Inequalities in health still exist and are mainly blamed on the stratification system in the UK. The Black Report suggested there were 4 main reasons for this:

The Black Report (1980) investigate the problem of health inequalities in the UK and the differences in health according to social class. The report highlighted that people in the lower economic class had a higher chance of experiencing ill- health and face a more detrimental effect on their health and even face untimely death than people of higher socio economic

Epidemiologists and population health experts have researched and analyzed the issue of income inequality and low socioeconomic status and how it relates to one’s health conditions. Across the globe, income has a major impact on the quality of other determinants of health, such as housing, food security and other basic prerequisites for health (Mikkonen and Raphael, 2010). Socioeconomic status (SES) can impact an individual’s health through factors such as control over material resources, social and political power, prestige, knowledge and educational skills; access to care; and exposure levels to agents harmful to health (Viswanath and Bond, 2007). On average, the more advantaged an individual is, the better their health overall (Alder and Ostrove, 1999).

“There is a strong association between lower levels of health and lower socioeconomic status” (Bradshaw, 2008). “A large proportion of the population is unable to afford or access nutrient dense food, sanitation, health care services, clean water and as a result, the poor health of the individuals living in poverty stricken areas is driven by the unequal distribution of resources in the healthcare system.”

Differences in health by social class was examined by the Black Report (1980), which investigated the problem of health inequalities in the UK and found that people of lower economic status were far more likely to experience ill-health and premature death than those of higher socio-economic status. The report concluded that despite the improvement in the overall health of the population, the improvement had not been equal across the social classes and that the health 'gap' between lower and higher social classes was widening. This was supported by the Health Divide (1987) and the Acheson Report (1998), which mirrored the findings of the Black Report. Report findings suggested there was a direct correlation between socio-economic class and health

This paper discusses the ideas presented by Richard Wilkinson, in the video How economic inequality harms societies (2011). Three compelling concepts arise from the video which are that there was no longer a correlation between gross national income and health and social problems; it is also possible to attain greater equality as evidenced by what some countries are doing to reduce the income gap; and inequalities vary based on their health impact across the social gradient but nonetheless is present from top to bottom. In order to tackle the health problems and improve the health of individuals within societies, social justice actions geared at the inequalities seen in the healthcare system and other institutions are crucial. This paper also

Health inequalities and social gradients are pervasive and persistent issues worldwide. The World Health Organisation has identified many factors that have a strong bearing upon health inequalities and has made addressing these a goal of its Health Promotion programme (WHO 2016). The concept of a social gradient describes the phenomenon where the lower an individual’s

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.