Inequalities In Health

Question 1

What is inverse care law?

Answer 1

Availability of good medical care can vary inversely with the need of the population served

E.g in areas of more sickness, doctors have more work and less support

Question 2

What explanations to health inequality are mentioned in the black report?

Answer 2

1. Artefact
2. Social selection
3. Behavioural cultural
4. Materialist

Question 3

What is the artefact explanation to inequality?

Answer 3

Inequalities due to the way the statistics are measured

Largely discredited explanation

Question 4

What is the social selection explanation of inequality?

Answer 4

Chronically ill and disabled people move down the social hierarchy whilst healthy individuals move up

Question 5

What is the behavioural cultural explanation of inequality?

Answer 5

Ill health is due to people’s decisions and choices

Question 6

What is the materialist explanation of inequality?

Answer 6

Inequalities rise from differential access to material resources - gives lack of choice to adverse conditions and exposure hazards

Most plausible explanation

Question 7

What is the psychosocial explanation?

Answer 7

Health is influenced more by differences in income than actual income

Question 8

Explain Wilkinson’s income distribution theory

Answer 8

Countries with greater income inequality have greater health inequality

The most egalitarian societies have the best health
(Egilatarian = all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities)

Question 9

What’s the difference between inequality and inequity?

Answer 9

Inequality- when things are not equal

Inequity- things that are unfair and avoidable

Question 10

What 5 factors are associated with inequalities in health?

Answer 10

Ethnicity

Gender

Age

Disability

Homelessness