This essay will be discussing the extent to which social class and poverty affects health and illness. Firstly, what is social class? Each person’s perception of social class can be different; is social class defined by a person’s accent, the area they live in, or something as simple as their income? Project Britain describes social class as “The grouping of people by occupations and lifestyle”. (Cress, 2014). To find social class Sociologists group people according to common factors, they compare people and various criteria can be conveniently used to place people in social groups or classes. Next we ask the question what determines a person’s health, the NHS defines health as “Physical and mental, it is the absence of disease”. (NHS 2017).
“Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people have a greater amount of disadvantage and significantly more health problems than the non-Aboriginal & Torres strait Islander population in Australia”
The Social Determinants of Health are the living conditions people experience, which plays a vital role in shaping population health (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010). Government policy is one of the Social Determinants of Health and also the one that can strengthen or weaken the other Social Determinants of Health such as education, income, employment etc. The Social Determinants of Health for Canadian young adults become worse today while the older Canadians today, young Canadians a generation ago, experience better Social Determinants of Health. This is because the Canadian government and policy maker put less effort to develop public policy so that the Social Determinants of Health are not strengthened today (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010). I choose
Canada is a ‘high-income nation’, possessing industrialized economies, technologically advanced industries, and high per capita income (Kendall et al. 2016: 24). Resulting in Canada much receiving international scrutiny as it has a vast number of individuals living in relative poverty (Kendall et al. 2016: 29). Particularly as many as five million, or one in seven people live in relative poverty in Canada (Kendall et al. 2016: 29). Constituting relative poverty is living below the standard of living relative to the average individual in Canada (Levine-Rasky 2017). In addition, income inequality acts as a social determinant of health (SDH), as it impacts the economic and social conditions of an individual or a community (Raphael 2016:
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
Public Policies strive to protect all citizens across the nation, includes low-income citizens who often go unrecognized in society. To make sure this happens, legislature has put forth the “The Canada Health Act”, which requires the provincial government to meet certain expectations regarding public-health care and insurance plans. Though this act states that health services are free and accessible facilities, issues arise when citizens need urgent medical attention but appointment are unavailable until weeks later. Many of these poor individuals cannot afford to pay the extra amount to receive faster care as oppose to their rich counterparts.
No narrative about Canadian health can ignore the two-headed hydra of growing health care expenditures and shrinking government revenue. Nor would a conscientious analysis ignore the burdens of an aging population, the growing prevalence of chronic conditions, and the system’s attempts to shorten hospital stays. Yet, to focus on these issues is to further risk marginalizing those among us who don’t even make it past the parking kiosk of our health care system. These are the ones left behind who watch, like members of an audience, the experiences of others, and then quickly disappear from our collective consciousness.
Health care expenditure accounted for an estimated 11% (214.9 billion) of Canada’s GDP in 2014 (CIHI, 2014). Canada boasts a universal, cost-effective and fair health care system to its citizens (Picard, 2010). However, despite great claims and large expenses incurred Canada’s health care system has been reported inefficient in it’s delivery to the population (Davis, Schoen, & Stremikis, 2010; Picard, 2010). As inconsistencies exist in health care delivery across the country, choosing priorities for the health of the Canadian people becomes of vital importance. In Ontario, progress toward a better health care system has been stated to be moving forward by putting the needs of the “patient’s first” (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care [MOHLTC], 2015). This policy brief will give a background of health care issues in Canada related to Ontario. Three evidence-based priorities will be suggested for Ontario’s health policy agenda for the next three to five years. Furthermore, through a critical analysis of these issues a recommendation of the top priority issue for the agenda will be presented.
Also, there is not supermarket near their houses . As well , people who live in musty places are difficult for them to breathe because of asthma , and they don't have access to medicines , so bleakness has a mental illness result such as the high rate of self-killing . The writers agree on that poverty is the main cause of sickness and obesity . Furthermore , income is the most reliable predictor of illness and obesity . Even though the health of those who have sufficient income has remained fairly , the health of those who are working and still living in poverty has deterioration . There are many effects on health of being homeless or forced to live in unsafe and unhealthy conditions; getting enough healthy food due to its high cost ; poor environment ; poverty and the lace of support are impair a child's developement. CMA helps highlighting the profile of poverty as adeterminant of health as Dr. Reid mentioned . Canada needs discussion on these issues include policy markers, government at all levels , the general public with the health care system , In my opinion , I think that poverty is a dangerous phenomenon all around the world which is opposed by all nations. It is the material deprivation that results in decline at all levels , particularly education, health , and
Throughout the lecture, lots of things stood out to me. The one thing in particular was the fact that in Canada, the most vulnerable people are those who are indigenous elderly and people who are homeless. When I thought about this more, I linked it with the social determinants of health, and the fact that that the less a person meets the social determinants of health the more vulnerable and marginalized they are. For example, if someone does not have stable income they most likely will not have a house that has good living conditions or no house at all. Another part that fits in is the fact that social status, gender and culture also play a part in the overall health of individuals. For example, Indigenous peoples often will live in rural areas which are close to their family and culture. They often do not have much education because of the residential school system that most had to attend. On these reserves, we have people that do not have access to
Have you ever thought about your starting point? Have you ever thought about what kind of life you were born into? Have you ever thought about where you would be in life if you were born into a household belonging to a different social class? These are the types of questions one must consider when discussing the lower classes and the fact that they are less active and therefore less healthy than the middle to upper classes. With that being said, it is debatable as to whom to blame for this problem in our society. Although many believe that lower class people have only themselves to blame for this fact, I believe that their health is based off of societal contributors that are largely out of the control of the individual. Within this essay, I will prove why our system is unfair by looking into different case studies that provide evidence as to why lower class people suffer as a result of the social determinants of health.
In the last few years, nurses and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) are under the spotlight of the media and the public due to issues addressed in documents such as The Francis Report (2010). This is good in a sense though as it gives us the opportunity to better ourselves as HCPs and improve the standard of care for everyone. It is now a widely known idea that there are many different factors that affect our health and wellbeing not just biological factors as believed to be the case not very long ago when a biological view was taken when addressing a person's health. However, this has all changed for the better where now healthcare is individualised, holistic and takes in to account the individuals own circumstances i.e. the social determinants of health and wellbeing (social determinants), not a simple one size fits all approach. This essay is going to discuss some of these factors so that we can learn to reduce these inequalities in healthcare and make great healthcare more accessible to everyone. The factors that will be discussed are individual lifestyle choices, housing conditions and .
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.
Currently there are many problems and flaws with the way the Canadian government’s policies deal with healthcare, income inequality and poverty. Time to time changes in policies have been made, perhaps to improve these issues, however, the gap between rich and poor keeps increasing and there is very little improvement in healthcare and the economy. In fact, healthcare keeps on becoming costly. Major issues like income inequality and poverty are not being taken care of by the government. According to Dr. Raphael (2002) poverty is caused by several reasons such as inequality in people’s income, weak social services and lack of other social supports (p.VI). He states, “Poverty directly harms the health of those with low incomes while income
It is often challenging to have health care services that meet the needs of Canada’s diverse population and the needs of both men and women. Gender influences access to care and women in particular are at risk for face difficulties to care (Ontario Women`s Health Equity Report, 2010 p.1). Women are more likely to be poor and have greater caregiver responsibilities in contrast to men. These both factors are barriers to accessing health services. The way the health care system is organized creates barriers to accessing effective care for women because it has failed to take into account that men and women use the health care system very differently. Canada’s health care system reinforces gender inequity rather than eliminating