Impact of social inequality on health and the mechanisms for health inequalities

Question 1

What is the correlation between an individual’s socioeconomic position and their risk of poor health?

Answer 1

Lower a person’s socio-economic position, the higher their risk of poor health

Question 2

What factor about an individual is the biggest contributor to health inequity, and give 3 reasons why?

Answer 2

Socioeconomic position

Influences access and quality of healthcare
Influences individual behaviours
Influences homing and income

Question 3

What are the 4 models used to describe health inequality?

Answer 3

Behavioural model

Materialist model

Psychosocial model

Life-course model

Question 4

Why do health inequalities occur according to the behavioural model?

Answer 4

Behaviours differ in each class, which are health damaging/promoting and in principle are subject to individual choice

Question 5

According to the behavioural model, do health inequalities arise inevitably or are they formed by indiviuals?

Answer 5

People can choose their own health-related behaviours which are health damaging/promoting

This creates inequalities

Question 6

Why do health inequalities occur according to the materialist model?

Answer 6

People have no choice but to be exposed to hazards that are an essential component of their social organisation

Therefore people can’t choose to not have certain health behaviours

Question 7

What is the main difference between the behavioural and materialist models of health inequality?

Answer 7

In behavioural model, people can choose all of their health behaviours including damaging ones

However in materialist model, people have no choice but to have some damaging behaviours, as they don’t have complete choice

Question 8

Why do health inequalities occur according to the psychosocial model?

Answer 8

Feelings that arise due to thoughts about social inequality, lack of social support can directly affect biological processes (health)

Question 9

Why do health inequalities occur according to the life-course model?

Answer 9

Disadvantages have different forms that accumulate from childhood to adulthood, into old age

Question 10

What is meant by the upstream and downstream factors that affect health inequality?

Answer 10

Upstream: Factors that impact health beyond individual-level characteristics
eg. political priorities, economic and work, education, cultural

Downstream: Factors that impact health at individual-level characteristics
eg. inequalities in distribution of health and wellbeing like living conditions, access to health care, behavioural risk factors