The Social Determinants Of Henrietta Lacks's Health

Throughout the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, many social justice issues were presented. One of them was racial discrimination, specifically in the medical world. Race was perceived in an extremely different way than it is now; it is clearly evident how it impacted the medical care that Henrietta Lacks received and what happened with the family as her cells were spread and studied. Today the situation would be handled differently. There are not segregated hospitals with people saying that since a person does not have enough money to pay for a hospital visit, taking tissues and cells from the body is okay. Racial discrimination in the medical world has changed a great deal since the time that the HeLa cells were first taken.

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

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing, and not just the absence of disease” (WHO, 1974). Health inequalities are the differences in health or healthcare opportunities in different societies this may be due to income,

In today’s society, there are many different factors that can contribute to one’s overall health and well-being. Since there are so many different factors that can affect one’s health, there are inequalities that exist among people and this is knows as health disparity. "Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States” (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2015). Health disparities can be associated with factors such as: socioeconomic status, education, gender, race, ethnicity, age, mental health, and religion. There are certain health problems that can affect different groups more than others, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS (Surgeongeneral.gov, 2015). One example of a specific population in the United States that is affected by health disparities is the African American Population. While African Americans are affected by various health disparities, one that affects this population more prominently is heart disease.

Potter and Perry (2017) states, “Health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health.” Health disparity is experienced by social disadvantaged populations. These vulnerable populations can include race or ethnicity, gender, education, income, disability, and geographic location (Potter & Perry, 2017, p. 33). The Banes family

Have you ever been bullied or even discriminated against? Imagine that feeling of embarrassment, shame, and self-consciousness. Although I never have experienced the type of discrimination that Henrietta did, I still understand how it feels whenever you feel cheated because of another's actions and the pain that comes with self-doubt as a affect from the society. Seeing how I am affected by discrimination, it is easy to see that the theme of discrimination in "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" is relevant in today's world.

The cause of health disparities are multidimensional, ranging from SES, to educational obtainment and race. Due to a lack of education dictated by her race, Henrietta is stuck in cycle of poverty that leads to increased health disparities. As a young African American women in the 1950’s, Henrietta was subjected to inequalities in health services, access to education and even occupational opportunity. Due to her lack of education, Henrietta did not have any other opportunity but to work on a tobacco plantation where she was most likely paid a meager salary. Due to lacking economic means, education and race, she was stuck in a cycle of poverty that builds on itself and is exacerbated by the addition of children. Once children are involved there

Henrietta Lacks was born in 1920, the eight of ten children. Her mother died in 1924, and her father took all the children to the family’s home in Clover,Virginia and made them split up to live with different relatives.Lacks was placed with her grandfather, Tommy Lacks.They lived in a four room cabin that was once used for slavery. This cabin became the biggest part of her life. Henrietta was pretty popular in high school. She was very gorgeous, so she got a lot of attention from boys. Her affections came from her cousins Day and “Crazy Joe”. The cousin, Day, was the boy she had stayed with in the cabin ever since she was young. They had two children. One was Lawerence and the other was Elsie, who was mentally retarded. Henrietta and Day ended up getting married two years after Elsie’s birth.

Henrietta Lacks was born on the first day of August in 1920. She was an African American woman who grew up in southern Virginia where she worked on her grandfather’s tobacco farm along with many of her cousins. At the age of fourteen, Henrietta married her first cousin, Day Lacks, and together they moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Henrietta had five children over the next fifteen years. On the first of February in 1951, at the age of 30, Henrietta went to the Johns Hopkins Gynaecology Clinic for symptoms of spotting between her menstrual periods. A doctor at the hospital named Howard Jones examined her and found nothing unusual. Six weeks later, Henrietta returned to the hospital, complaining of abdominal pain. Dr. Jones saw her again, and when

The concept of ethics has existed as long as human beings have fostered conscious thought. Whether it be with respect to civil rights, animal rights, individual health and autonomy, or religion, consideration for others’ welfare is at the core of humanity. That is, until prejudice, mistrust, greed, and ignorance corrupt our morals and cloud our collective judgment. The tragic story of Henrietta Lacks, indicative of deep racial divides across the world and the financial, political, social, and scientific fields that perpetrate racially-based injustice, is a reminder of these corruptions. Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, effectively characterized the plight of the Lacks family and the modern implications of

It isn't possible to compose a novel concerning Henrietta Lacks without anyone having an opinion. When speaking about ethics, there is usually not one correct answer; it always turns up to be an argument of opinions between the people. Ethical concerns that were raised throughout The Immoral Life of Henrietta Lacks include dilemmas such as the fact that the HeLa cells were taken from Henrietta body without notifying the family until 20 years later.

The effect the discovery and creation of the HeLa cells made on the science community and Henrietta’s family had a domino effect. Both had different opinions and beliefs on the matter; this led to some difficult questions asked of the family and of the medical community. Due to the new and advanced methods of experimentation, the HeLa cells made to to the field of science, the scientific community and the media failed to remember that Henrietta and her family were not abstractions but actual people. Rebecca Skloot, however, took into account the Lack’s family, she inquired both the history of the HeLa cells as well as the Lacks family, treating them as actual people with inalienable rights.

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

The Artefact Explanation: the inequalities debate sees ill health as a biological entity, which differs between social classes.

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.