M4: Social Determinants of Health

Question 1

What is Inequality?

Answer 1

Unequal access to opportunities

Question 2

What is Equity?

Answer 2

Equity is the fair and just distribution of resources and opportunities, tailored to meet the specific needs of individuals or groups to achieve equal outcomes.

Ex. Does everyone get the same slices of pizza or does it depend on their situation

Question 3

What is Equality?

Answer 3

Evenly distributed tools and assistance

Question 4

What is Justice?

Answer 4

Fixing the sytem to offer equal ccess to both tools and opportunities

Question 5

What is Social Class?

Answer 5

“A position in a system of structured inequality based on the unequal distribution of power, wealth, income, and status”

Class is a better predictor of health than anything else

Question 6

What is meant by “class”?

Answer 6

• Often described as differences in ‘lifestyle’
• Tied to patterns of consumption – clothing, housing, cars, media, subtle ‘style’
• But this description fails to explain where class ‘comes from’ or the underlying structures of class

Question 7

What is Social Stratification?

Answer 7

Social stratification (inequality): system/separation and categorization of people reflects an unequal distribution of resources as a result / system of social standing

• Different social groups/classes -> differing access to/control of resources -> different health outcomes
   e.g., Income -> Ability to purchase healthy lifestyles, etc.
• Health (or illness) can also be considered the result of unequal access to resources – e.g., Health care, Healthy food, environments, behaviours

Question 8

Health Ineqaulities vs Health Inequities

Answer 8

Question 9

What is Health Equity?

Answer 9

The absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among population groups defined socially, economically, demographically or geographically

Question 10

Life expectancies in Canada (example from 2017 data)

81.75

Answer 10

Life expectancy did not increase in Canada between 2016-17 (first time in 4+ decades) – largely attributed to opioid crisis

• Deaths due to accidental drug use in young men offset ‘gains’ in life expectancy by older men
• Fewer deaths due to cancer and circulatory disease are reason for most of the ‘gains’ in life expectancy

Question 11

Health inequalities and inequities in Canada

Answer 11

• Generally speaking – Canada is a wealthy & healthy nation
• But there is considerable income and wealth inequality
• There is also great (and growing) health inequalities
• Income and wealth inequalities and health inequalities are inevitably linked
• Some of these inequalities are avoidable, unfair and unjust = health inequities

Question 12

What are Social Determinants of Health?
(SDOH)

Answer 12

• economic and social conditions that shape the health of individuals and communities
• Primary determinants of whether individuals stay healthy or become ill
• -> unequal distribution of power, money and resources -> impact conditions of daily life -> result in health inequities

Question 13

Social Determinants of Health’ (SDH)
Visual

Answer 13

Question 14

Social Determinants of Health’ (SDH)
Examples

Answer 14

Question 15

make q

Answer 15

• Societies with lower levels of inequality have higher life expectancy overall ▫ e.g., UK vs. Sweden example
• Hence, rather than total wealth, the distribution of wealth has a more positive impact on health
• In other words, the more egalitarian a society, the better the life expectancy

Question 16

What are the three ways to explain Health Outcomes?

Answer 16

Question 17

A more in-depth look at Materialist/structural explanations

Answer 17

Question 18

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