Inequalities In Healthcare

Question 1

How is health related to socieconomic position?

Answer 1

Lower position people report more ‘not good’ health and have double infant mortality rate

Question 2

Give the six explanations for inequalities

Answer 2

Artefact
Social selection
Behavioural-cultural
Materialist
Psychosocial
Income distribution

Question 3

What is the artefact explanation?

Answer 3

Health inequalities are evident due to the way stats are collected
-discredited as data problems would lead to underestimate of inequalities

Question 4

What is the social selection explanation?

Answer 4

Direction of causation is from health to social position so if you are ill you move down social hierarchy.
-can’t apply this to children

Question 5

What is the behavioural-cultural explanation?

Answer 5

Ill health is due to people’s choices, knowledge and goals and disadvantaged tend to engage in health damaging behaviours

• behaviours also due to outcomes of social processes, choices may be hard to exercise if you have a lack of food
• BUT good for health education

Question 6

What is the materialist explanation?

Answer 6

Inequalities arise from differential access to material resources, income, jobs, housing so leads to lack of choice in exposure to hazards and poor conditions so accumulates over life
-most plausible

Question 7

What is the psychosocial explanations?

Answer 7

In addition to direct effects of absolute material living standards, psychosocial pathways also act eg lack of autonomy at work is a stressor so has effect on health

Question 8

What is the income distribution explanation?

Answer 8

Relative income affects health once the country becomes rich enough, so the greater the income inequality (diff between rich and poor) the greater the problem

Question 9

Define inequality and inequity

Answer 9

Inequality=things are different

Inequity=unfair and avoidable inequalities

Question 10

How do deprived groups manage their health?

Answer 10

As a series of crises so present to GPs and emergency services more than using preventative and specialist services

• others are ill so it’s normal
• can’t leave job to see doctor
• services don’t meet needs

Question 11

What could be the factor that causes diversity among diseases people get?

Answer 11

Socioeconomic, access to services, culture and behaviour, gender->social factors, sex->hormones

Question 12

How can health be measured?

Answer 12

Mortality
Life expectancy
Self-export
Diagnosis and admission records