Health Inequities Flashcards
What are Health Inequities?
- differences [in health] which are unnecessary and avoidable but, in addition, are considered unfair and unjust.
- the unequal distribution of resources causing disparities
Why are health inequities a health/societal concern?
- They are inconsistent with Canadian values (There are differences in peoples access to healthcare; services are not proportionately accessible)
- They are unfair
- They cause preventable suffering (ppl with poor healthcare face health disadvantages)
- They threaten the cohesiveness of community and society
- They challenge the sustainability of the health system (If people are not getting the care they need, it can affect health outcomes, thus the overall health system)
- They have an impact on the economy; increase health costs and decrease labour potential
Health inequities as UNNECESSARY.
Necessary
- those with cystic fibrosis wold have a shorter lifespan than those without it - this is a necessary difference in (you can not change those who have CT)
ex. 4 year difference in lifespan based on how much money you make
- Considering you get to live 4 years longer if you make more money, some may think this is unfair and should be addressed
- education
those with higher education live 3 years longer - unnecessary; bec it does not have to be this way; we can try to allocate more resources to those who are less educated
Health inequities as AVOIDABLE.
- If we can not avoid these differences, we should not be focused on them
ex. Social vs. material deprivation - Those who are most deprived have a higher rate of suicide deaths than those in the lowest level of deprivation; Allocating resources to ensure people can have well-being can avoid differences like these
Health inequities as UNFAIR/UNJUST.
- if we think it is unjust, we also think it is unnecessary and it means we should do something to do about and we can
- if we think it is unjust, we do not need other criteria
- if we dont know if something is inequitable but we do know that the differences was unnecessary and avoidable, we still do not have reason to think the difference is inequitable (we need theory)
When are differences in health unjust?
- equality can become absurd if it requires depriving people of some good - imagine blinding people so that everyone is equally sighted
Why can equality cause injustice?
- equality for its own sake can become absurd if it requires depriving people of some good, even if everyone has sufficient amounts of that good, simply in order for equality to obtain—
(ex. imagine blinding people in order that everyone is equally sighted; does not make any sense)
What makes differences in health unjust?
‘Free-standing’ approach: Any and all health inequalities are unjust
- The fact that you have a racial group that has differences from another racial group, our job is to eliminate those differences
‘Derivative’ approach: Health
inequalities are unjust if and only if they are caused by unjust socially controllable causes
- more popular approach
ie. people of colour face adverse health outcomes. their poorer heath is a result of racism (socially controlled cause)
Action on the social determinants of
health
- Inequities in health are influenced by inequities in the social determinants of health (ie. access to education, housing)
ex. lack of education causes poorer health - The social determinants of health are addressed via policies in non-health sectors (e.g., education, finance, environment, etc.)
- the health sector identifies these issues, but do not have the means to do anything; they need to convince other ministries to implement change
- The reduction of health inequities is dependent on interventions in non-health sectors
Getting the __________ to care about health inequities is important (esp if we want policy to succeed).
Public
3 Ways Health Inequities are Addressed?
- Universalism
- Targeted Policy
- Proportionate Universalism
What is Universalism?
- a policy approach where eligibility and access to intended benefits are based on being part of a
population without any further qualifiers (such as income, education, class, race, or employment status)
ex. vaccines - making everyone (over the age that it is safe to get it) eligible for vaccine - fair
Ex; Canada health act - everyone has access to health care no matter the circumstances
Targeted Policy Approaches
- a policy approach where eligibility and access to intended benefits are determined by selection criteria, (ie. income, health status, employment status)
- If we want to address inequities, we must target our policies to those who are negatively affected by health issues
- Ex. Instead of using a universalism approach, lets use scarce resources and target particular communities
- ie. creating a program for people with high-risk diabetes that people with low-risk diabetes are not eligible for
This could be best for closing the gap between populations- Could be based on income, status, age, employment status
Proportionate universal policy approaches
- The 3rd approach that is a mix of universalism and target approach
- The benefit is in proportion to peoples needs
- a policy approach that
“encompasses both targeted and universal approaches to
ensure the population as a whole is proportionately allocated benefits and services - We give more resources to the people that need more and vice versa
- these approaches are harder to design bec they need to be available to everyone and is proportionately rolled out to different groups
