Inequalities Of Health In Britain Today
In Britain today, inequalities of health are common among many different groups of people. Recent comparisons have shown that Britain is in the middle of comparable Western countries in relation to inequalities of health.
Class has a huge influence on health. There is a large gap in how healthy those in lower class groups are compared to those in higher class groups, and many people believe that this gap is widening. For example, the poorest groups in Britain live, on average, 8 years less than those in rich groups, and while only 10% of social class I are obese, 25 % of social class V are obese. This is the same level as in the United States of
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Following a recent survey, it was discovered that all the poorest places in Britain are in Scotland, which profoundly affects Scotland's health and knowledge of health. In Wester Hailes 9.8% of babies born had a low birth weight compared to the Edinburgh average of 4.8%. In Greater Pilton there are 27% more deaths than average, 31% more cancer deaths and 16% more heart disease, as well as highly above average suicide rates. All these facts tell us that where you live seriously affects your health and the type of health care you receive.
Non-white groups make up only 5.5% of Britain's population, but people in ethnic minority groups are much more likely to describe their health as "poor" of "fair" compared to those of the ethnic majority. Four fifths of Pakistani and Bangladeshi people living in Britain exist in poverty, which is defined as less than half of the average income. Their income is about half of that for whites in the same social class. The women in this ethnic group are also less likely to have had a cervical smear test in the past 5 years. Half of the women who did not attend these tests lacked basic information on the test, did not receive an appointment or did not even know what the test was for. South Asians in Britain are also unlikely to have had the cervical smear test as well as having higher than average
Ill health provides jobs for doctor’s nurses and specialists (P.Trowler, Investigsting Health welfare and Poverty, 1996 p.27) .
There is a strong correlation with an individual or group SES and the quality of health care received. Social Economic Class relates to what group of class an individual fit in based on their income, which can include wages, investments or other source. The quality of care depends on the facilities that is offering the services, the staff, accessibility to the service and the kind of health insurance that the person has. Affording health care is expensive and the lower or poor class has to decide between being able to afford food or other daily needs and going to a clinic for screening. Most of the time, individuals who fall in the class will ignore the health signs while
Widening economic inequality in the United States is being accompanied by increasing health care disparity. While the health care system seeks to provide health care as a human right, it fails to do so often worsening the disparities (Dickman, Himmelstein, & Woolhandler, 2017). While health care today has made major strides, there are many people who are still suffering from health care system injustices. Of the people who are still uninsured a majority of them are in the middle-working class or those living in poverty. Poor Americans have less access to health care than wealthy Americans. The life expectancy gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. Health care in poor communities is too often neglected. This issue has been a trend in the United States for many years. In Abraham’s book, Mama might be better off dead these very same inequalities are evident for the Banes family. Because of these inequalities, preventive illness becomes life threatening causing care to then become extensive and even more expensive.
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends cervical cancer screening with cytology testing (also known as a Pap Smear) every three years in women ages 21 to 65 (U.S. Preventative Services Task Force [USPSTF], 2016a). The USPSTF has graded this recommendation with an “A” indicating that they have a high level of certainty that the screening will prove to be beneficial, rather than harmful to the patient (USPSTF, 2016a). However, if this patient would prefer to receive cervical cancer screening every five years, the USPSTF also has a high level of certainty that this will prove to beneficial rather than harmful if human papillomavirus (HPV) and cytology are both performed during this screening (USPSTF, 2016a). The
One of the major problems facing our country today is the healthcare crisis. The inequality in our current healthcare system has created a huge gap in the difference between the level and the quality of healthcare that different people receive. Having an improved and reliable health care system available for everyone should be a priority that the government must make available. There are countries whose health care system meets the needs of the patients while there are countries whose health care systems need a great amount of overhaul for them to be able to attend to their patients. In this essay I will discuss the healthcare crisis and the differences in many countries
Explain patterned inequalities in health and illness. Evaluate sources of evidence with regards to class, gender, ethnicity and age
Mortality rates: In gender men generally die earlier than women because of many aspects of their life, for instance in general women tend to take care of them self more physically. A lot of women go on diets and a lot of exercise DVDs and detunes are mainly aimed at women. Women in general do try to eat healthy and go on diets whereas men usually aren't very aware of their diet and don’t have much intention on improving it. Women also tend to go to the doctors and seek medical advice more often and have their illnesses diagnosed and treated more often than men. Because women' generally take more care of themselves and do more to keep themselves healthy.
Sexual and social stigmas largely affect the health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population. While many reports from the Institute of Medicine, Healthy People 2020 and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recognize a need to improve the quality of health care, barriers still remain. LGBT patients face legal discrimination, especially with insurance, a lack of social programs, and limited access to providers competent in LGBT health care. Although the Affordable Care Act increased access to care for LGBT patients, unless these patients feel understood by providers and develop trust in the system, they are not likely to utilize care. Healthcare providers need to recognize how these vulnerabilities, as well as persistent racism and stigma linked to sexual orientation and gender identity, make the healthcare needs of LGBT patients more challenging than the general population. Healthcare providers also need to promote cultural competence within this population and broaden their clinical lens to include health promotion, in addition to addressing concerns mentioned above within the population. Additionally, medical and nursing schools need to ensure that future providers are adequately educated by including information about this population in the curriculum.
Health inequalities are preventable and unjust differences in health status experienced by certain population groups. People in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to experience health inequalities than people in higher socio-economic classes. Health inequalities are not only found between people of different
classes are perhaps not as clear as they used to be. But it is just as
The United States is world renowned for having the best health care if not the most accessible. Citizens have at their disposal a plethora of hospitals, physicians, and therapists to improve their well-being. Statistical data was taken back in 2010 under the Central Texas Region and studied health care coverage and income in regards to the community. The data displayed in the surveys heavily suggest that income/ health in general have a high correlation. The issue that arose with the given data imply that those who are on the lower end of the income spectrum subsequently have no health care coverage and poorer health than those with higher income. In any case with high correlation there are a number of factors influencing the statistical evidence, and in this case sociological barriers are present in regards of inequality and health care.
In the critical reflection 2, we will be recalling the term health inequality. And, find out the importance of needing a policy to answer the necessity of health disparity. In the first section of the paper, two of the policy solutions will be introduced and will also mention how these policies affect population, and the policy maker. The other section will state the pros and cons of the policies from the writer’s perspective. Finally, the conclusion emphasizes on the significance of answering health disparity by using the policies and how it helps to reduce the inequality.
The Behavioural or Cultural Explanation: places emphasis on the individuals and the consequences of their behaviour, when they choose to eat, drink and live healthily the inequalities will be reduced.
Income inequality also causes obesity however; we mostly blame individuals for being obese. Being obese can have a serious impact on mental and physical health. it is an illness that is associated with stereotypes. The biggest one is “if poor people become obese they cannot be not poor”. People in this mentality also exclude the structural and social conditions that cause illnesses such as obesity. Social life affects the health of people, especially the socioeconomic level. How much you earn monthly is a factor how fit you are. The risk of being an obese is lower for the wealthy individuals. Poor people are obese because they have no money to buy healthy food, they have no time to exercise, they have stress that causes them to eat constantly, they lack education, they do not have access to the healthcare, they do not have social support and so on. It is mostly about the income inequality.
In line with the majority of other developed countries, the United Kingdom (UK) has offered its citizens a universal health care system that is free at the point of service. Funded primarily by taxation, the system is popular and efficient. However, along with most other health care systems around the world, it faces a series of challenges if it is to maintain viability, in the twenty-first century. These issues include; long waiting times, an aging population, funding challenges and the increasing cost of technology.