Health and Social Class Essay

In 1946 the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This definition integrates the main concepts of health and identifies that health can be viewed differently by individuals and groups (Bowden, 2006). Health and well-being are the result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual and emotional factors (Dunkley, 2000a).

From this film, the key points that were mentioned about how socioeconomic backgrounds and race impact one’s health is something that is not as emphasized as it should be in the public eye. Especially how health and wealth are intertwined with each other is particularly frustrating since health should be a human right and people should receive the health they need regardless of their economic

According to Riegelman and Kirkwood (2015) there are many social determinants that influence our health. These may include, but are not limited to; income, educational level, culture, and professional status. All of these things can contribute to our health, because they are the things we are surrounded with: a way of life. Most of these determinants are structurally unequal. This means that a person doesn’t have a choice, but to be part of that determinant. We do not have the choice of being born into a rich or poor family, what culture we are raised in, and so on. These inequalities lead to heath disparities. Health disparities are the differences between groups’ health that are/ can be caused by structural inequalities (Disparities 2017). For example, Henrietta Lacks came from a poor family and her health was negatively affected by the social determinants that come along with that lifestyle. On the other hand, we could look at a rich family during that time and their health could have been positively affected. We will look at how different social determinants caused Henrietta Lacks to experience both structural inequalities and heath disparities.

Naidoo and Wills(2001, p.47) “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ - WHO (1946).” This definition falls into a holistic way of defining health, which believes that there are more areas to look at when thinking of health than just simply the absence of a disease. It considers the cause of why someone is ill and not just simply about ’fixing it’.

But over the past few decades, the definititon and concept of health has evolved to encompass more elements than just the physical well-being of a person. This is partly attributed to various researches and studies that have taken place around the world in the last 60 years. Already in 1948, the World Health Organization declared that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organisation, 2011)

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

Although statistics have to be approached with an open mind, evidence has been released which shows overwhelmingly that good health and life-expectancy is dictated by social class, with the lower classes being subject to poorer health and lower life expectancy. In 1980 The Black Report followed by the Acheson Report in 1998 are the most influential reports on this topic. In each report they provide an in-depth explanation of the relationship between the various social and the environmental matters regarding

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.

These differences in heart disease, known as health disparities, are a key reason that there is a racial discrepancy in life expectancy in Baltimore City: African-American men die 6.7 years earlier than Whites and African-American

Collectively, the United States is a society in which the notion of equal opportunities is believed by many. The idea that, through individual action, with use of equal opportunities granted, one can better themselves and move upward in the mobility latter of class and economic stability. It is this notion, however, which is an illusion presented by government officials, that is handicapping people of society, resulting in self-blame when things are going wrong or unexpected. Additionally, it is this illusion that is bringing about inequalities of socioeconomic statuses, when really, opportunities are not equated as equal today and the system in which is bringing about such disparities between classes is not challenged by those being affected and put at a disadvantage the most. Through secondary data of scholarly articles and a documentary, this paper aims to identify the problems that socioeconomic statuses plays on health, the stakeholders who are present and how they are affected by this problem, and then conclude by offering some recommendations that propose change to be made to better the system in which the United States is currently in regarding socioeconomic statuses and the negative effects it has health.

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

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 World Health Organisation defined health: “State of complete physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (WHO, 1946 p.100). Many factors influence health such as family traits, behaviours, access to quality healthcare and environment (quality of air, bad/good water and housing conditions) (WHO, 1946). The holistic view of health combines the mind (mental), body (physical), emotional and spiritual elements to a person (Ewes & Simnett, 2003).

The black report found that people of a lower social class are less likely to use health services and screening such as visiting the dentist, immunisation, family planning and antenatal care. Going to see a doctor is a more “middle class” thing to do and people who are in a lower class have a more “toughen up” attitude towards being ill. Middle and upper class people tend to spend longer with the doctors as they “speak” the same language they maybe more educated to understand the scientific terminology that the doctor uses. Lower class people may feel their lifestyles will be judged by health professionals and looked down upon, this leads to ill health left untreated and will cause it to get worse. Often poverty stricken people never get the help they need and die from an illness that could have been cured if it was treated. This leads to shorter life expectancy’s and more cases illnesses amongst the