Journal 1
One of the main reasons I chose to major in sociology of health and aging is because I was always really interested in the definition of health. How is health defined within and between cultures? Is there a universal definition of health and if so who gets to create said definition. As I become more and more involved in this idea of health I found it to be socially constructed depending on the culture on belongs too. There is no one definition for even within a specific culture an individual’s health is changing over time, health is dynamic and at different stages of you life span an individual’s definition and perception of health changes with them. However before we dive into specific avenues on how health is influenced I
…show more content…
However given this information there are still a variety of other factors i.e. social factors that can have a massive influence on an individuals health and these things are not the easy to change and manipulate. Social determinates of health is loosely defined as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live etc. individuals tend to have less control over theses factors especially at a younger age. Which got me thinking how does one’s social economic status influence an individual’s health.
Is there a massive gap between individuals of more marginalized group compared to the majority when socio economic status is involved? How about taking a look at individuals who have approximately the same financial income and live in different areas of a specific town, or state so comparing urban areas to suburban areas. Also looking to see if individuals of lesser socioeconomic have in general poorer health if so then why. I personally believe that there will be a huge disparity between individuals who have a higher socioeconomic status compared to those who make a lot less. As you continue to look at the opposite ends of the spectrum I think that gap will only become more and more wide. Personally I am an African American student living in London and I have had to experience the challenge with regards to eating healthy on a student budget and it can at time be more than challenging.
Currently I am overweight and because of the information
Why are higher income and social status associated with better health? If it were just a matter of the poorest and lowest status groups having poor health, the explanation could be things like poor living conditions. But the effect occurs all across the socio-economic spectrum. Considerable research indicates that the degree of control people have over life circumstances,
Communities are sometimes largely unaware that social factors rather than medical ones, such as income, and employment status, shape our health. Our health is also determined by the health and social services we receive, and our ability to attain high education levels, food and safe housing, among other factors.
The determinants of health are economic and social conditions that affect people’s health status. These influence the living and working conditions that impacts people’s everyday living condition. Factors such as the place and the environment we live in, genetics, educational level or work status and income, as well as friends and family are some of the aspects that affects our health condition. On the other hand, the people that have an access to good health care and have financial stability are less susceptible and are often less affected. (NANB, 2009)
“The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life” (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2009). The social determinants of health can be divided into 5 categories, age, sex and hereditary factors, individual lifestyle factors, social and community networks, living and working conditions and general socioeconomic, cultural and
The definition of health is fluid, ever changing and carries different meanings across individuals, societies and cultures. Although it is difficult
By looking at what different people say about health, it is clear that each one look at it differently. Therefore, there are many ways to define health. When we look at health, all physical, intellectual, emotional and social aspects should be considered because they all affect our health equally. Health can be defined in many ways, positively, negatively and holistically. It depends on how the individuals look at their health and how concerned they are about it. Our state of healthiness will depend on many things such as where do we live, what job do we do, what do we eat, who are our friends and everything else related to our lifestyle. Our choice about our lifestyle can make a difference to our health. If we are interested enough in ourselves, we can improve our own health. Some people think, that it depends only on the health care we obtain; however, it doesn't only depend on this. It is connected to our lifestyle as well.
Social determinants of health encompasses ethnicity, gender and social class. It is seen as the essential
The correlations between level of education and socioeconomic status, and therefore the general health of an individual, are repeatedly proven to be evident across the globe.
Different researches do believe that there is a link between social class and health. It is a statistical impression and also it has been argued that there isn’t really a pattern in social class, age and peoples employment that has had an impact on people’s health inequalities.
This report will be investigating the various sociological perspectives on health as well as the models and definitions of health and ill health. These topics will assist in the understanding of how different people and different cultures react to ill health.
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
It is fairly difficult to define health as there are no agreements between scholars. This is why many sociologists focus their research on the different issues and problems of ill health.
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.
The aim of this essay is to examine the influence that socio-economic status has on an individual’s health.
Understanding social factors in health has become a central issue recently and a large number of studies has been dedicated in this regard. Social factors are phenomena seen in the interaction between individuals and social groups. In this essay, the importance of understanding such factors and their influence on health are addressed by studying socioeconomic status. Studies results are incorporated to explain health inequalities that arise from socioeconomic status and possible explanations including the material and structural, social selection, cultural and historical explanations cited in the literature are briefly discussed.