Economic & Political Influences on Health Flashcards
What is ‘health’ determined by?
Where you are born
Where you live
How you are brought up
Your life chances
Your political voice
Your family support
What are the reasons for the social and economic gradient of health?
Access to healthcare
Environmental exposures (physical and social)
Health behaviours
Life course factors
Why do polital, economic and military forces have an impact on health?
They change:
Recources available for allocation to public health
Impacts productivity
Exposure of population to risk factors
What are some examples of policies that impact health?
Health
Income security
Employment
Education
Housing
Business
Agriculture
Transportation
Justice
Technology
What can our social environment lead to?
Bad health decisions and then chronic disease
What are lifestyle choice heavily structured by>
Life circumstances
What are lifestyle choices difficult to change without?
Considering life contexts
What must effective policies to address health also address?
Economic inequality
Social inequality
What is done by the government in the UK to influence health?
Policies
Legislation
Taxation
What are some examples of policies, legislation and taxation in the UK to influence health?
Early life
Social support
Unemployment
Transport
Food and drink
What are examples of early life policies/legislation/taxation to influence health?
Perinatal scans
Immunisation programmes
Free early education
What are examples of social support policies/legislation/taxation to influence health?
Equality act
Discrimination laws
Data protection
Adult social care
What are examples of unemployment policies/legislation/taxation to influence health?
Benefits
Schemes to get people back into work
What are examples of transport policies/legislation/taxation to influence health?
Speed limits
Seat belts
Emmision laws
What are examples of food and drink policies/legislation/taxation to influence health?
Baby milk subsidies
Free school dinners
Tax on fatty foods and sugary drinks
How does a more educated population impact health?
More aware of health risk factors
More supportive of investment
More likely to use health services
How does the health of deprived people compare to those who are not?
Smaller life expectancy
More alcohol related admissions
Greater percentage of adults who smoke
More GP consultations per 1000 patients
What 3 A’s is access to healthcare impacted by?
Affordability
Accessibility
Acceptability
What is an example of a nation spending more money on healthcare but being worse than another country?
US spends more than Cananda per capita and as a percentage of GDP but still has a smaller life expectancy
Where does funding for healthcare come from?
Taxation
What needs to be remembered about funding for healthcare?
Distributed across primary, secondary and tertiary care
Not bottomless
What is health strongly influenced by?
Wealth and equality of a nation
Political decisions making policies on a broad range of issues
Economic spend and control and ligislation
