Inequalities in health W9

Question 1

Absolute poverty -

Answer 1

someone is poor when he/she does not have the necessary resources to sustain life

Question 2

Relative poverty -

Answer 2

someone is poor in relation to other people, below 60% of median income

Question 3

Social stratification: definition and example

Answer 3

a structured system that categorizes entire groups of ppl into a hierarchy based on the wealth, status, power and creates unequal life chances

widely used form of stratification - socio-economic classification

Question 4

Characteristics of working class (3):

Answer 4

• Earn weekly wages in routine manual jobs
• Rent homes
• Expect children to get good jobs as soon as they leave school

Question 5

Characteristics of middle class (3):

Answer 5

• Earn monthly salaries in professional, non-manual jobs
• Can borrow money to buy their own homes
• Encourage children to proceed to higher education

Question 6

5 classes based on occupation:

Answer 6

I: Professional (doctors, lawyers)
II: Intermediate (managers, nurses)
IIIN: Skilled non-manual (shop assistants, police officers)
IIIM: Skilled manual (electricians, miners)
IV: Semi-skilled manual (postman, farm workers)
V: Non-skilled manual (cleaners)

Question 7

Inequalities in health are associated with inequalities in wealth, Marmot (2003) suggested 3 ways in which socio-economic position could be linked to health

Answer 7

• money
• status
• power

Question 8

health determines social class:

Answer 8

ppl fall ill => unable to secure payment => downward social mobility

Question 9

Materialist model -

Answer 9

access to materials (resources) and control of (material resources) influences people’s health

Question 10

Poverty and unemployment
expose people to

Answer 10

greater health hazards (e.g. poor housing, air pollution, insufficient or unhealthy food) = > are associated with chronic stress and a lost sense of control

Question 11

‘inverse care law’ concept by Tudor Hart (1971)

Answer 11

Healthcare is least available where it is most needed.
Even if available, healthcare & other services may be less accessible & under-utilized

Question 12

Reasons f/ variation in access to healthcare (4):

Answer 12

• availability
• quality
• costs
• information

Question 13

Behavioural model

Answer 13

focus on individuals and how they behave (explain 1/3 of social diff’s in mortality)

Question 14

health-damaging or health promoting behaviours:

Answer 14

Smoking
Alcohol abuse
Unhealthy diet
Physical exercise
Health literacy
Health beliefs

Question 15

Psychosocial model

Answer 15

• effects of social inequality may cause stress (ppl feel subordinate & disadvantaged)
• poverty can result in both stress & isolation
• ppl who have good relationships w/ family, friends, participate in community - longer life expectancy than those who are isolated

Question 16

Two pathways from stress to poor health

Answer 16

1. a direct effect on disease development (mental illness/somatic disease)
2. an indirect pathway when stress is expressed by health-damaging behavior(s)

Question 17

Stress-related mechanisms

Answer 17

• lower socioeconomic groups experience a greater number of stressful life events, negative stereotyping, stigma, and social isolation
• lack of social relationships leading to maladaptive coping strategies (consuming alcohol to cope)
• affluent individuals may have a beneficial network of social connections / a social ‘buffer’ against stressful life events

Question 18

Lifecourse model

Answer 18

one’s experiences with social conditions and social positioning across time

Disadvantage at one time associated with disadvantage at a different time (disadvantage in childhood (poverty) => disadvantage in adulthood)

Question 19

Methodological and conceptual issues of Lifecourse model

Answer 19

• timing and duration of exposures across the life span
• risk factors accumulate and interact synergistically over the lifecourse in complex ways

Question 20

Präg P, Richards L. (2019): class of origin and destination class both influence your health

Answer 20

Being born working class is bad for your health, and moving up the social ladder cannot compensate for it

Question 21

Which model provides the most sufficient explanation?

Answer 21

Combination of Materialist, Behavioural and Psychosocial models

Question 22

Social selection model

Answer 22

focuses on biological reasons: individuals are biologically vulnerable to diseases => this is the reason why these people do not move up in the social strata

=> not low socio-economic status that negatively affects health, but health determines social class

Question 23

Limits of the social selection model

Answer 23

• Not sufficient to account for the whole of differences in health by social class (Papanikitas 2015)
• Social mobility tends to occur before serious diseases become prevalent
• Incapacity does not always lead to downward mobility