Low Socioeconomic Status Of Low Income Elderly

Elderly people (women and men age sixty-five or older) (Macionis, 2005), Have many obstacles to face as they grow older, many of these obstacles involve social inequality. Not only do the elderly have to learn to deal with many forms of Ageism (the stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age), some also have to deal with the fact that they do not have enough savings or pension benefits to be self supporting, for most people over sixty-five, the major source of income is social security (Macionis, 2005). This forces many elderly Americans back into the workforce to continue to earn money to support themselves and or spouses. Although many elderly Americans may choose

Diabetes affects nearly 10% of the total population and national cost of more than $200 billion each year in the United States (Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2017). Before the patient protection and affordable care act (PPACA), many low-income diabetes patients had no or very limited access of health insurance coverage due to financial disadvantage. PPACA Title II-Role of public programs expanded Medicaid coverage to individuals under 133% of the federal poverty level (Obamacarefacts.com, 2013). Nurses directly interact with low-income diabetes patients to guide, advocate, educate and navigate the complex healthcare system to deliver the best evidenced care (Marquis &

Many people are reluctant to seek medical attention due to fear of costs and causing more financial constraints. Most especially for individuals or families who have to choose between paying rent and securing their meals, in which case, diabetes (or other diseases for that matter) is not seen as an imminent threat, therefore it is not a priority. While some may have health coverage, they may not have the advantage to cover co-payments for the visit, medications, diagnostics, or other treatments.  Second, language barrier and other discriminations contribute to health disparity. Because they are unable to communicate their concerns and in fear of judgment, language/discrimination discourages people from seeking medical help— the assumption that they (minorities) will be treated unfairly or not given enough or of equal treatment. Undocumented individuals are also less likely to seek help in fear of being caught. Lastly, the issue of cultural disconnection— in this dimension,  participants admitted to the fear creating a stigma and receiving negative feedback from their providers (who only favor biomedical treatments).  There is fear of being an object of ridicule and rejection if they admit to the use of alternative medicines and remedies. Fear of reporting use of other remedies may adversely affect provider’s recommended regimen. In considering these social and economical factors, people become chronically ill and progressively worse until the situation becomes acute and no longer manageable. These dimensions, and other contributing factors, place limitations and restrictions in individual’s power to make health decisions, and inevitably create health disparities. Page-Reeves and others state, “ although disparity can take many forms, health disparities can be understood as one of the most concrete manifestations of inequity, often  determining who will live and who will die— with the poor and immigrants suffering

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate and discuss healthcare vulnerabilities of the elderly rural population in Baker County, Florida and describe how the nursing profession can address these problems. Rural health has been a complex and multifaceted challenge for government and healthcare practitioners. The elderly who live alone in the county suffer from low socioeconomic status, low health literacy rates, declining cognitive and physical health and lack of healthcare facilities. The health status of this vulnerable group is impacted by rural culture and social values, healthcare policy and funding affecting rural healthcare facilities, distance and lack of transportation, and health literacy.

Underserved residents are older, poorer, and have fewer physicians to care for them. This inequality

Those people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged are more likely to consume an unhealthy diet with high levels of saturated fats, consume large amount of alcohol, smoke, be in an unhealthy weight range, and participate in little or no physical activity. Lower levels of education have lower levels of literacy and are less aware of the risk factors and protective behaviours therefore increasing prevalence of type-2 or gestational-diabetes. Income can also restrict access for some health services such as specialists. People with low socioeconomic status are also likely to show more than one risk factor associated with diabetes, greatly increasing the chance of developing diabetes, in which the prevalence is 3.6 times more likely to suffer from diabetes and 2 times as likely to die from

There are countless significant factors that affect this problem, although most of them are society and the way that they portray their predetermined biases to the poor or anyone who is struggling. The only way to alleviate these issues is to continue to educate the people in hopes that future generations will rectify the wrong of the past. Nevertheless, we can orchestrate some ways to lessen the burden of the underserved from listening to their needs, for instance, lack of transportation, including travel time, and safety to and from the physician’s office would allow many to truly have the ability to utilize their insurance. Another issue is clinic and appointment wait time, inability to pay co-pays or prescription fees, knowledge of benefits, and the poor treatment they receive from front office staff and medical assistance due to their insurance status (Freed, Hansberry, & Arrieta). Recipients of employee based commercial insurance can’t possibly understand the difficulties that the poverty stricken population endure just trying to use their insurance and due to this there is no empathy or response to these struggles. The common belief system in America is that everybody is given the same opportunity and if you are struggling, it is your own fault. This is a complete, nonsensical way of thinking.

Within the United States some populations groups face greater challenges then the general public with being able to access needed health care services in a timely fashion. These populations are at a greater risk for poor physical, psychological, and social health. The correct term would be underserved populations or medically disadvantaged. They are at a disadvantaged for many reason such as socioeconomic status, health, and geographic conditions. Within these groups are the racial and ethnic minorities, uninsured children, women, rural area residents, mentally ill, chronic illness and the disabled. These groups experience greater barriers in access to care, financing of care, and cultural acceptance. Addressing these

Nearly three out of five of them live below 200% of poverty. Only 66 percent of eligible Indians are accessing Social Security, a rate far lower than the national average of 88 percent. As the diabetes epidemic continues in Indian Country, elders are affected by the disease and its complications more severely than any other age group. More than two of every five Native elders have diabetes and in some communities, more than half of our elders are afflicted. As they live longer, elders are also living with the complications and disabilities caused by the disease. We need more help from you in educating them about how to prevent the disease . . . or how to live with it. Nowhere are the disparities in minority health care so great . . . nowhere is the mandate to the federal government so compelling as with the well-being of Indian elders (Baldridge, 2002).

Furthermore, research on aging and eldercare also show a propensity that socioeconomic status should be taken into consideration, according to Bookman and Kimbrel (2011). The authors contend that African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American communities, and other groups also bring their cultural strengths and demands to the caregiving experience (Bookman & Kimbrel,

Research shows that seniors with less education and from lower socioeconomic levels experience more disease, a shorter life expectancy and poorer emotional wellbeing. Additionally, Raina et al. (2000) explains that older men and women health is differentially susceptible to various health determining factors. For example, for older men, education has more effect, income and stress affects older women. The proposition is that health education is necessary to create health awareness and to increase health outcome among the seniors. Rowlands, Protheroe, Winkley, Richardson, Seed & Rudd (2015) study shows that low health literacy is correlated with greater use of medical services, less precautionary care, greater difficulty managing long-term illnesses,

Many low-income people who cannot afford healthcare services often have a difficult time finding a pharmacy or physician who will accept them as patients. Patients who do not receive the appropriate care from physicians are at a higher risk of developing avoidable diseases. Research has shown 23% of uninsured patients do not get medical care due to the cost of treatment or get delayed medical treatment due to costs (Barton, 2010). Bernard and Sheldon found in 2006 approximately 11.3 million U.S. residents were uninsured from 2001 to 2002, despite being employed (Barton, 2010). According to the textbook; Understanding The U.S. Health Services System; American Indians or Alaska Natives have the highest uninsured population being at 38%, followed by Hispanics and Latinos at 35% (Barton 2010). Furthermore, people between the ages 18 and 44 are among the highest proportion with no health insurance coverage, most of them being males (Barton, 2010). There are numerous reasons why patients lack health insurance coverage, including but not limited to: people cannot afford the premiums, do not qualify for Medicare, Medicaid, or other government programs, their employer does not offer any insurance because they are part time, or they have declined their employers insurance (Barton, 2010). These uninsured patients rarely use nonemergency ambulatory services therefore have a greater chance of having uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, or cholesterol

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.

Nicholas C. Arpey, Anne H. Gaglioti, and Marcy E. Rosenbaum, three interesting authors, claim a person's socioeconomic affects their health outcomes and the health care they recieve and that more people should be aware of this problem. The authors claim that people of lower SES are more likely to have worse self-reported health, lower life expectancy, and suffer from more chronic conditions when compared with those of higher SES. Few studies have investigated whether patients of low SES are aware of the attitudes and practices physicians have been shown to have when caring for low SES patients, in order to show how such perceptions affect the way low SES patients interact with the health care system and their providers. The author’s seem like

Poor socioeconomic status is a risk factor independently associated with COPD, and is likely to be indicative of other factors such as intrauterine growth retardation, poor nutrition (low intake of antioxidants) and housing conditions, childhood respiratory-tract infections, and exposure to tobacco smoke, biomass smoke and other indoor air pollutants, and occupational risks. These factors might have a collective contribution to the risk of COPD. Socioeconomic status has been shown to have a significant correlation with lung function, even after adjustment for smoking status, occupational exposures, and ethnic origin. The magnitude of the effect of socioeconomic status, though variable, is about 300 mL FEV1 in men and more than 200 mL FEV1 in