Poverty and health Flashcards
Biomedical model of illness and health
causes of ill health and solutions lie within biological bodies, their genetic composition, cellular function and reactions to pathogens and pharmacological interventions
social model of health and illness
ill health cannot be purely explained by biology; people’s social, economic and political lives impact on their health;
the oppurtunities for a helathy life arent always awarded equally
Medical consequences of poverty
- malnutrition- weakened immune system and neurophysiological develepment
- Poor maternal nutrition- premature births and low birth weight
- poor nutrition in childhood- inhibited growth and developement
- lack of hygienic facilties- infestations with scabies, head lice and intestinal worms
- damp housing- urti, ease of spread of pathogens
- lack of play facilities- hindered psychological developemnt and increased risk of accidents
- hazardous work conditions- physical exhaustion, risk of accidnets
what 2 ways can you define poverty
quantitative (income and consumotion)
absolute and relative
qualitative (capabilities)
absolute poverty
the physical lack of absolute minimum standards of living
(minimum amount of income required to meet the basic necessities of life or world poverty line $1.90 a day)
Critiques of absolute poverty
based on biological reductionist assumption that wellbeing can be measured in terms of minimum physiological requirements
Ignores socially and culturallu defined needs- is a mobile phone necessary?
difficulties in estimating univesal physiologhical requirements of an individual (e.g., weather, local diet)
Unable to capture depth of poverty, duration of it or how people vioew their financial situation
relative poverty
national poverty line according to acceptable standard of living
based in the level of income below which consumption and participation is impossible
differs among people and time
participation in culturally valued activitities
concerns with relative poverty
how to define and measure acceptable living patterns, customs and activities?
it is as arbitrary and the definition of absolute poverty
qualitative or capabilities approach to poverty
focus on what people are able to do rather than what they have
areas with corruption, gender imbalances require more resources to achive the same results
defines poverty as capability deprivation, the lack of freedom for an individual to releasie their potential
views on poverty (3)
individualistic
structuralist
intersectionality
individualistic view on poverty
poverty is a self-inflicted process
e.g., lack of education is a matter of choice
structuralist view of poverty
poverty is a consequence of structural forces in a society
e.g., lack of access to opportunities, unequal distribution of resrouces
discriination
intersectionality approach to medicine
poverty is harsher if you have other characteristics of disadvantage
e.g., being a woman and being black
inequality in health status can be because of:
age
sex
ethnicity
geography
socioeconomic status
health inequalities can be measured by which indicators
infant mortality
life expectancy
mortality/ death
morbidity/ illness
self reported ill-health
Social determinants of health
e.g., general socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors
living and working conditions
unemployment
water and sanitatiom
etc.
how is health political
unequal distribution: all life chances under a capitalist economy are gained more by some groups than others
health determinants: social determinants of health such as housing and income are amenable to political interventions
organisation: any purposeful activity to enhance health needs the organised efforts of society
citizenship: the right to a standard of living adequate for health and wellbeing is or should be an aspect of citizenship
Salient points
- POverty is complex, dynamic, muiltidimensional and political
- poverty is a human rights issue (stigma, discrimination, dignity, autonomy)
- cycle of poverty and health
- poverty requires intervention like other heealth risks
- poverty is not always apparent and we cant make assumptions
- poverty both affects the liklihood that someone will get a disease but also how someone will deal with illness
