Health and Health Inequalities

Question 1

What is epidemiological transition?

Answer 1

Used to denote historical change in the demographic and disease profiles of countries as they move through periods of economic and social development.

Question 2

How do patterns of disease change with epidemiological transition?

Answer 2

As countries move through social and economic development, deaths from acute infectious and deficiency related diseases decrease; deaths from chronic and non-communicable diseases increases.

Question 3

What does infant mortality rate indicate?

Answer 3

Indicator of the health of a population: closely associated with a nation’s living conditions.

Recent increase in UK- fuck knows why

Question 4

Define life expectancy at birth

Answer 4

The number of years a newborn baby can be expected to live if the mortality patterns at the time of their birth stay constant.

Question 5

Define healthy life expectancy at birth

Answer 5

The number of years a newborn baby can expect to live in relatively good health

Question 6

What are key features of the epidemiological transition?

Answer 6

Birth rates decline

Life expectancy increases

Deaths from acute and deficiency related diseases decrease

Deaths from chronic and non-communicable diseases increase

Question 7

What are the leading causes of death in the UK for men and women?

Answer 7

Men:

• Ischaemic heart disease

Women:

• Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Question 8

What are the leading causes of cancer-related deaths for men and women?

Answer 8

Lung most common for both men and women

2nd for women: breast cancer

2nd for men: prostate cancer

Question 9

What are the long term epidemiological trends in the UK?

Answer 9

Disease patterns transitioning from acute → chronic

Increase in disability free life expectancy

Increase in life expectancy

Question 10

Define health inequality

Answer 10

Systematic differences in health between populations

Question 11

What are the main determinants of health inequalities?

Answer 11

• Socio-economic status and conditions of daily living
• Ethnicity and culture
• Education
• Gender

Question 12

How does the behavioural and cultural model explain health inequalities?

Answer 12

States that health inequalities are seen as a result of health behaviours and lifestyles.

Health behaviour choices seen as a result of:

• Individual choices
• Knowledge
• Culture

Does not account for all health inequalities

Question 13

What is the material explanation for health inequalities?

Answer 13

Suggests that health inequalities result from the direct effects of poverty and material deprivation:

• Poor access to housing, healthcare, food, fuel for heating, transport, healthy meals, exercise facilities etc.

Does not explain how many of the richest countries still have greater levels of health inequality.

Question 14

What is the psychosocial explanation for health inequalities?

Answer 14

Suggests that health inequalities stem from the psychosocial environment.

Psychosocial stress affects health by:

• ‘Allostatic load’ links psychosocial stess to physical health via neuroendocrine pathway.
• Indirectly: adoption of unhealthy behaviours.

States the psychosocial stress caused by social inequalities causes the social gradient of health outcomes.

• Stress associated with social hierarchy and low social control
• Stress associated with low income and poorer material circumstances

Question 15

Which theories are most likely to explain the social gradient in health?

Answer 15

• Material explanation
• Psychosocial explanation

Question 16

What is the registrar general’s socio-economic classification?

Answer 16

(usually used), defines socio-economic position according to occupation.

With each step down the socio-economic ladder, health becomes poorer.

Question 17

Which cancers are more common amongst higher and lower socio-economic groups?

Answer 17

Lower socio-economic groups: larynx

Higher socio-economic groups: breast, prostate, skin