Health Inequities

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

• fortunately over the last 100 years , life expectancy has in fact risen , there are more people living to over 100 years than ever before.
• however there is still massive inequalities in health within people. Factors which. contribute to health inequality are gender , lifestyle- overall the biggest cause of health inequality is poverty

Question 2

Poverty - health inequality 
4 arguments (obesity - physical) 
3 arguments (mental health )

Answer 2

• A way in which poverty impacts physical health is through the fact there is increased obesity shown in those living in deprived areas.
• children living in living in poverty commonly develop childhood obesity and the prevalence of childhood obesity is constantly rising in the most deprived areas.
• for example :this is shown in a survey carried out in 2011 which showed in the most deprived areas 25% of children were medically classified as overweight compared to least deprived area in which 18 % were classified overweight.
• obesity is extremely detrimental to one’s health and has implications such as high blood pressure , chances if stroke, heart failure and is a risk factor for many diseases- this therefore shows the impact of obesity and shows how poverty can lead to HI
• ( the NHS recommendations to help obses children are very difficult to achieve for poorer families - they advise fruit /health snacks /signing up for sports teams a-all which are harder when your poor.
• poverty also has a big impact on mental health -with those in poverty being ore likely to develop mental health issues
• for example children and adults living in households in the lowest income bracket in GB are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop mental health problems than those in the highest. This therefore shows how being in poverty can lead to health inequality
• the impact of this is detrimental :when people are more likely to become mentally ill, their stresses increase and the fact they have to worry about things such as paying bills can cause further worse mental issues and even lead to physical problems -as mental health us not only detrimental mentally but also physically. -showing that poverty contributes to major inequality in health between rich and poor

Question 3

Gender - Health inequalities

• 4 for mens lifestyle
• 4 for women mental health

Answer 3

• there is also health inequalities when it comes to gender. A reason for health inequality between men and women is due to men making more poor lifestyle choice when compared to women.
• an example of this is that men are way more likely to engage in hazardous levels od drinking compared to women. Eg a survey showed that 27% of men drank at harmful levels compared to 19%of women
• men are also much more likely to drink above the recommended daily limit on their heaviest drinking day (43% men and 34% women)
• this shows how health inequalities can arise between men and women - as drinking at high levels is very detrimental , the Impact of this on men can be that they are much more like
  Y to get ill/ develop alcohol linked issues and destroy their health.
• However when it comes to mental health there is inequality between men and women : women on average are more likely to struggle with mental health issues than men
• a reason for this is that women are statistically more likely to become single parents causing worse mental health
• for Example in 2014 women accounted for 91% of the lone parents w dependent children in the Uk , men remaining at 9%
• this shows major Health inequality between men and women due to the amount of lone parenting done by women : the impact of this is that a large amount of stress and responsibility is put on young women , which can lead to further mental health issues..

Question 4

Lifestyle choices
4 for lifestyle choices
3 for second hand smoking

Answer 4

• lifestyle choices are also a cause of health inequalities. These lifestyle choices include smoking / excessive alcohol drinking and poor diet, which can lead to extremely bad health in comparison to those who don’t make those choices.
• for example smoking is the single biggest cause of early death in the UK and is responsible for half the difference in life expectancy between the rich and poor.
• this shows how health inequalities can exist due to poor lifestyle choices as people choosing to smoke will be prone to disease such as lung cancer.
• this example also shows how those living in poverty are disproportionately affected by health implications, showing being in poverty can actually impact and shape your lifestyle choices (evidence that poverty is the main cause of health inequality)
• furthermore second hand smoking can also have severe impacts on peoples health, and again is more likely to occur in those who live in poverty
• eg a yougov 2015 report found that the percentage of people who allow smoking in their homes is 15% higher in the most deprived areas than the most affluent.
• this shows how the choice to smoke at home possible with children is made more often by those I’m poverty and can have damaging health effects not only on the smoker but the individuals around the smoker.

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

• there are many causes for health and income inequality, however poverty overpowers most factors as the main reason- as most factors tend to link back to poverty
• for example although lifestyle choices are a factor contributing to poor health (smoking and drinking to a bad extent can be detrimental to health) studies have shown that these can all stem from poverty : for example studies show the relationship between problem drinking and tobacco smoking with unsecured debt.
• poverty itself is a big factor for inequalities in health - higher rates of childhood obesity and worse mental health can be linked to poverty showing the effect of poverty on one’s health
• of course there are other factors for the differences in health between people such as gender , women tend to live longer when compared to men due to men making worse lifestyle choice , however studies show women have worse mental health : this can be due to lone parenting , however also due to a combination of low paid work and high housing costs as well as the stress of a child. This highlights that despite gender beings a factor of HI, it still shows correlation to poverty in some way, as a large % of single mothers are poor.