This essay is looking at what the key factors most commonly regarded as being linked to health inequalities in the United Kingdom. Firstly, what does the term health inequalities mean according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) “Health inequalities can be defined as differences in health status or in the distribution of health determinants between different population groups. For example, differences in mobility between elderly people and younger populations or differences in mortality rates between people from different social classes. It is important to distinguish between inequality in health and inequity. Some health inequalities are attributable to biological variations or free choice and others are attributable to the external …show more content…
The further up the ladder you climb in a business the better the health benefits can be for example the higher you go up in the company private health care you get raises in value also getting paid leave to recover, unlike the workers who are nowhere near the lower middle class section of the business structure they will be using the NHS this can mean long waiting lists, unpaid leave or sick pay which is not a lot.
Another factor to inequalities of health could be regional differences and what I mean by this is where you live in the United Kingdom (BBC, 2011) helps point out if you live in central London and areas in the south east of England like Brighton, Canterbury(Kent), Oxfordshire, the Isles of Wight and Surrey they are going to have higher living standards than anyone living in the north of England for example Middlesbrough, Gateshead or Sunderland and it’s the same when it comes to Wales and Scotland. The reason for the massive divide brings me on to another factor of why there is such an inequality in health which is employment.
As the (BBC, 2011) states on their website “This is linked to employment opportunities. Declines in traditional industries such as mining have contributed to a
In the “Marmot Review: Fair Society Healthy Lives” written by “Professor Michael Marmot” himself, he proposes the most effective evidence-based strategies for reducing health inequalities in England. Inequality is unjust and unfair and therefore it is a matter of social justice in cases where everyone has an equal,social, political and economical rights and opportunities.He simply stated that to reduce the steepness of the gradient sufficiently “actions must be universal, but with a scale and intensity that is proportionate to the level of disadvantage” Even though resources may be scarce and it is tempting to focus these limited resources on the most needy, we are eliminating some parts of the society and therefore only tackling a small part of the overall problem. Part of his solution was to “implement an evidence-based programme of ill health preventive interventions that are effective across the social gradient such as Increasing and improving the scale and quality of treatment programmes and focusing on public health interventions such as smoking cessation programmes on reducing the social gradient” Michael Marmot also raises the benefits to which reducing health inequalities will help the economy as well as socially. “It is estimated that inequality in illness accounts for productivity losses of £31-33 billion per year, lost taxes and higher welfare payments in the range of £20-32 billion per
M2 – Discuss the factors likely to influence current and future patterns of health in the UK
These are a few potential links between social inequalities and the health of the population: income and wealth distribution, unemployment, the ageing society, gender and health, mental illness and suicide and disability and dysfunction. I am going to discuss each of these and see the health impact on people in each group.
Bakibinga and Rukuba-Ngaiza (2018) show that the main reasons for health inequalities are differences in income, employment, housing or education, which can make the circumstances of people’s daily lives more challenging. This can increase the likelihood of poor health in addition to people becoming poorer, which in turn means that they are more likely to live in more deprived neighbourhoods. In Scotland, people born in the 10% most deprived areas and people from poorer backgrounds generally do less well than those from more affluent areas (Scottish Government, 2022). Deprived areas have higher risks to health because of poor housing, high rates of crime, poorer air quality, a lack of green spaces and places for children to play and more risks to safety from traffic (Marmot, 2010). Individuals in lower socioeconomic groups are identified as a group who may face challenges in accessing healthcare services and adopting healthier lifestyles (The Health Foundation, 2018).
These inequities in health and social indicators are perfect examples of the affect of political and economic factors that influence access to health services (Browne and Fiske 2001).
Rowlingson (2011) agrees with Wilkinson and Pickett that there is indeed a strong correlation between income and health and social problems. In her report she includes the ‘Marmot Review’ (Marmot, 2010) which shows evidence that people living in England in the poorest areas compared to those living in the richest will, on average, die 7 years earlier. This suggests a clear link between class and health. The report further notes other additional factors, such as infant mortality, and mental and physical well being go hand in hand with inequality.
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
“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,
classes are perhaps not as clear as they used to be. But it is just as
Inequalities in health still exist and are mainly blamed on the stratification system in the UK. The Black Report suggested there were 4 main reasons for this:
In this task there will be a discussion on the impact of social inequalities in society. I will explain how the different social groups’ including religion, ethnicity, age and gender can benefit the society but also face difficulties in terms of health and well being.
There are many different reasons why health inequalities exist due to many factors one extremely important one is social class. Socio-economic inequalities have been researched in the UK for many years. In the early 20th century the government started an occupational census which gave the researchers the opportunity to examine health outcomes of social class. The five class scheme was introduced in 1911 and a variation has been used since. In 2001 the National Statistics Socio Economic Classification replaced the older version. Social class is a name used to identify people who are similar in their income
This paper discusses the ideas presented by Richard Wilkinson, in the video How economic inequality harms societies (2011). Three compelling concepts arise from the video which are that there was no longer a correlation between gross national income and health and social problems; it is also possible to attain greater equality as evidenced by what some countries are doing to reduce the income gap; and inequalities vary based on their health impact across the social gradient but nonetheless is present from top to bottom. In order to tackle the health problems and improve the health of individuals within societies, social justice actions geared at the inequalities seen in the healthcare system and other institutions are crucial. This paper also
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).
“Health is a universal human aspiration and a basic human need. The development of society, rich or poor, can be judged by the quality of its population’s health, how fairly health is distributed across the social spectrum, and the degree of protection provided from disadvantage due to ill-health. Health equity is central to this premise. Strengthening health equity—globally and within countries—means going beyond contemporary concentration on the immediate causes of disease to the ‘causes of the causes’—the fundamental structures of social hierarchy and the socially determined conditions these create in which people grow, live, work, and age. The time for action is now, not just because better health makes economic sense, but because it