Ch 10. Health, Illness, and Health Care Flashcards
the state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being (WHO)
Health
Life Expectancy
an estimate of the average lifetime of people born in a specific year
(2022)
Women = 83.9 years
Men = 79.8
the number of deaths of infants under 1 year of age per 1000 live births in a given year (3.9/1000 (2023))
Infant Mortality Rate
Who tends to have shorter life spans?
- men
- people with lower incomes
- indigenous people
Who’s more likely to have disabilities?
- women
- people with lower incomes
- Indigenous people
Health is the state of being free from…
illness or injury and can be measured formally or informally
much of our physical health is shaped by our social living conditions factors over which…
…individuals have little control.
Acute diseases
illnesses that strike suddenly and cause incapacitation and sometimes death (more likely men)
Chronic diseases
illnesses that are long-term and that develop gradually or are present from birth (more likely women)
a restricted or total lack of ability to perform certain activities
(more likely in older people than younger and most common in pain, flexibility, and mobility-related)
Disability
Ableism
prejudice and discrimination against people because of a physical or mental disability
Disabled aged 25-64 are more likely to be unemployed than able-bodied, but varies by…
…type of disability and unemployment is declining for those with disabilities
Mental Illness is difficult to define and treat and women tend to have…
…mood and anxiety disorders and men substance dependence. Rates are higher among unemployed and Indigenous people.
Deinstitutionalization
the practice of discharging patients from mental hospitals, total institutions (places with complete control), into the community, often just moving people to the streets and jails.
Mental Disorder
conditions that make everyday life difficult or impossible
Mental Health
refers to the state of well-being
While everyone will experience changes in their menal health over their lifetime…
…not everyone will experience a mental illness
Stats about Mental Illness in Canada
- In any given year, 1 in 5 people in Canada will experience a mental illness
- By age 40, 50% of the population will have had a mental illness
- Major depression (5.4%) and anxiety disorders (4.6%) are among the most common
Health moves beyond the absence of illness: a holistic approach to health including…
…physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being
Income and Income Distribution
Education
Unemployment and Job Security
Employment and Working Conditions
Early Childhood Development
Food Insecurity
Housing
Social Exclusion
Social Safety Network
Health Services
Aboriginal Status
Gender
Race
Disability
Social determinants of health
Overall health is linked to the following determinants of health (4)
- income
- housing
- quality education
- family dynamics
Having a lower income predisposes people to… (2)
- material (clothing, shelter, food)
- social deprivation (recreational activities, community integration, quality of life)
Lack of education is highly concentrated with other SDOH variables such as income, employment security, working conditions
Education as SDOH
Unemployment often leads to material and social deprivation, psychological stress, and the adoption of health-threatening coping strategies (or lack of healthy coping strategies)
Employment as SDOH
Groups impacted by insecure employment (3)
- women
- new comers
- Indigenous Canadians
- Impacts the ability to access a healthy diet
- Increases likelihood of chronic illness
- Groups affected: single female-headed households, children
Food Insecurity of SDOH (3)
- Overcrowding allows for the transmission of some illnesses
- Access to clean water and sanitation came to be problem
- Access to amenities, rural dwellers; transportation
- Impact on mental health
- Groups affected: living below the poverty line, Indigenous Canadians
Housing as SDOH
- Related to social problems such as educational access and performance
- Looks at levels of powerlessness, hopelessness, and mental health concerns.
- Groups affected: Indigenous, racialized groups, rural dwellers
Social Exclusion as SDOH
Functionalist Perspective
Illness is a threat to a functioning society
Sick role: people have rights and responsibilities in addressing their health
Problems come from macro-level changes
Solutions come from incremental changes
Conflict
Problems are rooted in the capitalist economy
Medicine is a commodity: Comparisons between the reported health of Americans and Canadians show poor in Canada fare better than the poor in U.S.
Medical-industrial complex: health system and global health-related industries. Drug and other industries control the costs of the system
Challenges to conventional thinking about health
Interactionist
Problems are related to how people define the health system, for e.g., it can be labelled a crisis to promote political agendas
Feminist
Medicalization: the treating of a person’s condition as an illness. Many of women’s natural conditions, (e.g., pregnancy) have been treated as illnesses
Current Issues in the Health Care System (3)
- Accessibility and Wait Times
- Electronic Health Records (Canadian doctors are very far behind other high-income countries)
- Costs of Care
- The development of high-tech medicine and drugs
- Overspecialization of doctors
- Over-diagnosing of patients
- increased demand of health care by consumers
Problems in Canadian Health Care are due to Macrolevel things
Iatrogenesis
problems caused by doctors in the health care system
- universal
- comprehensive
- portable
- accessible
- publicly managed
Five characteristics of the Canadian health care system
mental illness
characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behaviour associated with significant distress and impaired functioning. (GOC)
