LEC 5: Equity & Social Justice Flashcards
What are some of the inequities in health we see in Canada?
- Medical funding on and off reserves
- Access to food
- Education
Disparity
US term used, differences in health status
Inequality
Unequal health outcomes due to differences in life conditions between groups
- Social and economic inequalities exacerbate health inequity
Inequity
Avoidable health inequalities between groups of people in a country and between countries
Social Justice
Fair (equitable) distribution of society’s benefits/ resources, responsibilities and consequences
- People are getting their needs met
What is the “Glasgow Effect”?
Have a drastic change in life expectancy in the same city due to social determinants of health and inequity
- Not just in Glasgow, but it happens in multiple places
Health Inequity: Men life expectancy in Scotland (In- Country)
- Life expectancy in poorest part of Glasgow: 58 years
- Life expectancy in richest part of Glasgow: 68 years
- Difference of 28 years
- Distance is less then 10km away
Health Inequity: Maternal Mortality (Between Countries)
Lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy/ childbirth
- Sweden 1 in 17,400m(0.00006%)
- Afganistan 1 in 8 (12.5%)
What are the 6 domains of inequity (drawing on SDH) to target?
- Early child development
- Education and life-long learning
- Employment and working conditions
- Minimum income
- Health and sustainable places to work/ live
- Prevention of illnesses and unhealthy lifestyles
What are two things that can be done to help with people’s health due to social position?
- Reduce the social economic gaps between top and bottom
2. Understand what links your position of hierarchy and health
Domains of Inequity: Early Child Development
Canada lags behind rest of OECD for child care development
Domains of Inequity: Education
Many jobs now require an university education
Who pays? Public resources vs. private
- Canada: 48% vs. 52%
- Finland: 96% vs. 4%
- UK: 28% vs. 72%
Domains of Inequity: Employment & Income
Charles Booth’s “Poverty Maps” of London during Victoria era (1886)
First accurate social survey taken and published: social cartography
Social surveying and census tools still used in research today
Within 100 years, the areas in London have not changed
Colours are the levels of income
- Dark Blue: Very poor, casual labour, chronic want
- Light Blue: Poor 18 to 21wks (58 GBP)
- Purple: Mixed, some comfortable and others poor
- Pink: Fairly comfortable, good ordinary earnings
Domains of Inequity: Healthy Places to Live
Can be an overall measure of health
- Canada places 5th to best places to live in the world
Can be environmental
- Air pollution
- Land pollution
- Environmental disasters can effect peoples health
Domains of Inequity: Prevention of Illnesses
People who are more at risk for poverty are often going to eat the nutrient dense food. Not the healthy choice for your body but are high in calories and will keep you going
- Food insecurity linked both to obesity and malnourishment
- Obesity from cheap nutrient dense but non-nutritional food
- Malnourishment from not enough food
Canada in the 1990s
- Dominant neoliberal social policies
- Fiscal restrains and economic restructuring = decrease in stable full time work
- 75% of immigrants form non-Europe counties
- Saw NAFTA coming into Canada
Canada in the 2000s
- NGOs exploring concept of SI/SE and participation of residents in Canadian society
- Policy debate about effect of poverty and social exclusion
- Canada is the only OECD country without a poverty reduction strategy
Neoliberalism
- Liaissez- fair approach/ free- market capitalism
- Decrease in government role, increase in privatization
What is the ideology of neoliberalism?
Individual freedoms are guaranteed by the freedom of the market which is thought to be the basis for a just society
What are the issues with neoliberalism?
- Dose not consider systemic inequalities by race, class, gender, and/or structural restraints
- Widens the income gap
Social Inclusion and Exclusion
- Inclusion within one’s society underpins their social well-being and is a social determinant of health
- Many aspect of Canadian society exclude and marginalize people by limiting their access to social, cultural, and economic resources
Recognition
- Acknowledges our shared humanity and mutual recognition of one another
- Differences are recognized and valued, enabling the unique needs of individuals and groups to be addressed
- Miss-recognition, disrespect, and fear of differences leads to oppression, stigma, and domination
- Fostering SI and social justice requires critical awareness and voicing of miss-recognition
Capabilities
The process and/or conditions affecting participation, freedom, and opportunities for capability development
This includes equal opportunities for personal development and well-being
What is capability failure?
Lacking the functioning required to meet one’s basic need
- Individuals or groups are unable to have social relationships or engage in everyday Canadian life
- “Poverty is the deprivation of opportunity:
Equality and Citizenship
- Equal citizenship is that there is a fair distribution of wealth, resources, benefits, and even burdens
- Equal opportunity for citizens to realize their rights and responsibilities, have just social structures and distributions, and freedom from oppression
- Need to address structural conditions that sustain exclusion
What would make health care more humane/ socially just?
- Universal health care; everyone has access to good quality care
- Education for people who do not have quality health care; advocacy
What can RNs do locally and llobally?
Advocacy and education, learn more and speak out
Social work is a big help, you don’t have to know everything, but you can connect client to them as well
