Poverty and health

Question 1

Biomedical model of illness and health

Answer 1

causes of ill health and solutions lie within biological bodies, their genetic composition, cellular function and reactions to pathogens and pharmacological interventions

Question 2

social model of health and illness

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Medical consequences of poverty

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

what 2 ways can you define poverty

Answer 4

quantitative (income and consumotion)

absolute and relative

qualitative (capabilities)

Question 5

absolute poverty

Answer 5

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)

Question 7

Critiques of absolute poverty

Answer 7

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

Question 8

relative poverty

Answer 8

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

Question 9

concerns with relative poverty

Answer 9

how to define and measure acceptable living patterns, customs and activities?

it is as arbitrary and the definition of absolute poverty

Question 10

qualitative or capabilities approach to poverty

Answer 10

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

Question 11

views on poverty (3)

Answer 11

individualistic

structuralist

intersectionality

Question 12

individualistic view on poverty

Answer 12

poverty is a self-inflicted process

e.g., lack of education is a matter of choice

Question 13

structuralist view of poverty

Answer 13

poverty is a consequence of structural forces in a society

e.g., lack of access to opportunities, unequal distribution of resrouces

discriination

Question 14

intersectionality approach to medicine

Answer 14

poverty is harsher if you have other characteristics of disadvantage

e.g., being a woman and being black

Question 15

inequality in health status can be because of:

Answer 15

age

sex

ethnicity

geography

socioeconomic status

Question 16

health inequalities can be measured by which indicators

Answer 16

infant mortality

life expectancy

mortality/ death

morbidity/ illness

self reported ill-health

Question 17

Social determinants of health

Answer 17

e.g., general socioeconomic, cultural and environmental factors

living and working conditions

unemployment

water and sanitatiom

etc.

Question 18

how is health political

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Salient points

Answer 19

• 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