Fifth Lesson Flashcards
absolute poverty
“a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs,
including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and
information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services.” This is the kind of
poverty you would find in the shanty towns of Africa, but also to a lesser but significant extent
in many developed countries. These are the people who do not have the resources for a healthy
life
Culture
The common heritage shared by the people of a society, consisting of customs, values,
language, ideas, and objects. Culture is society in you. It is your learnt view of the world. It
includes ideas, beliefs, norms and values. It is passed on from one generation to the next but it
does change. Your values, your norms, your beliefs. How you see the world, what things mean
to you. This is at least in part learnt from the family, friends, school, media, religion etc..
Health Behaviour
Behaviour of individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status.
It includes everything from avoiding risky things to preventive behaviour (screening, healthy
lifestyle). It is an action taken by a person to maintain, attain, or regain good health and to
prevent illness. Health behaviour reflects a person’s health beliefs. Some common health
behaviours are exercising regularly, good oral hygiene, eating a balanced diet, and obtaining
necessary vaccinations
health literacy
ability to obtain, read, understand and use healthcare information to make
appropriate health decisions and follow instructions for treatment. It is not only whether the
patient understands what the doctors say but also the ability to get good information online,
being able to decide what information is good, knowing what source to believe and being able
to take action to improve one’s health. People with higher SES generally have better health
literacy
Inverse care law
The availability of good medical care tends to vary inversely with the need
for it in the population served. This operates more completely where medical care is most
exposed to market forces, and less so where such exposure is reduced. There are plenty of
dentists in areas where rich people live (who are generally healthier) and few in poorer areas or
regions
Life chance
asymmetrically distributed access to socially valued benefits. The opportunity to
experience the good things in life. Your opportunities and life chances depend on your social
position. Not every child has the same chance to get into a good university. It is not just a
question of intelligence and working hard, but also of tuition fees, the need to work after
school to make money for the family etc…
Lifestyle
is the interests, opinions, behaviours, and behavioural orientations of an individual,
group, or culture. It is the consumption of material and cultural goods. Surrounding social and
technical systems can constrain the lifestyle choices available to the individual. Some people
may not be able to afford the lifestyle they would wish to have. Your consumption of cultural
goods (whether you watch tv, go hiking or hang out in a pub in your free time is also at least
partly culturally determined). Your lifestyle is part of your identity. Many people want to lead
a lifestyle they can’t afford which may lead to great stress and health risks
Relative poverty
views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context, hence
relative poverty is a measure of income inequality. Usually, relative poverty is measured as the
percentage of the population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income.
Relative poverty is not about starving. It is about having less than most of the population and
feeling bad about it. You can have a small flat and an old car and feel poor because others have
a bigger flat and a newer car. Relative poverty is a health risk, too, because it may lead to
overwork, burnout, stress and low self - esteem
Oral health
There are at least three important definitions. The negative definition is most like
the official dentist definition. It means you are healthy if you have no disease. It is the absence
of disease. DMFT is one indicator. The functional definition is how well people can function.
If I have some oral problem, but it doesn’t disturb me in my day to day activity, I might consider
myself healthy. The positive definition is the ‘look good-feel good’ definition. It means
wellbeing. Not only do you not have oral disease, you are also satisfied with the aesthetics of
your teeth
Risk behaviour
A lifestyle activity that places a person at increased risk of suffering a
particular condition, illness or injury. It includes things like smoking, drugs, cariogenic diet,
alcohol, lack of excercise etc…Like health behaviour, at risk behaviour is also culturally
determined. There is more smoking, drinking, unhealthy lifestyles is the lower social classes
Social inequality
The existence of unequal opportunities or rewards for people in different
social positions. These social inequalities cause health inequalities. People in more
advantageous social positions experience better health status and longer life. One of the main
goals of medical sociology is to find out how social inequalities translate in to health
inequalities
Social stratification
The fairly permanent ranking of positions in a society in terms of unequal
power, prestige, or privilege. Stratification is not only about financial standing. Statuses such
as gender, ethnicity, education level, age might also be ranked. Belonging to certain categories
might make your chances of achieving the good things in life easier or more difficult
Socioeconomic Status
is the social standing of an individual or group. It is often measured as
a combination of education, income and occupation. It indicates a persons position in society.
Examinations of socioeconomic status often reveal inequities in access to resources, plus issues
related to privilege, power and control. In eveeryday language we use the word social class
instead of Socioeconomic status. (In sociology social class is much more complex and we wont
go into it.)
Preventive dentistry
This is not symptom prompted. It includes check ups and advice. It may lead to
strong, personal dentist-patient relationship. It is mostly people of higher SES who participate
Restorative dentistry
is symptom lead but planned visit. People take care of decayed and
missing teeth. Again, this is mostly higher SES people. Emergency dentistry is symptom
prompted, unplanned visits. Usually it means more painful and invasive interventions than the
timely restorative treatment. Often it is too late for restorative interventions. Usually lower SES
people result to emergency dentistry
