Session 3 - Health inequalities

Question 1

What is meant by social patterning of health in the UK?

Answer 1

-Variations between regions of the UK based on differences in socioeconomic class
eg lower socioeconomic class correlates to lower life expectancy and poorer health status

Question 2

According the the black report by DoH, state the 4 reasons for health inequality (and an additional 2 not in the black report)

Answer 2

-Artefact
-Social selection
-Behavioral-cultural
-Materialistic
(Psychosocial and income distribution)

Question 3

What is the artefect explanation of health inequality?

Answer 3

• Health inequalities evident from the way statistics were collected due to cocerns over quality and method
• Most discredited explanation

Question 4

What is the social selection explanation of health inequality?

Answer 4

• Direction of causation is from health to social status not the otherway around ie sick individuals move down the social hierachy and healthy move up
• Chronically disabled are more likely to be disadvantaged

Question 5

What are the criticisms of the social selection explanation of health inequality?

Answer 5

-It is plausible but only a minor contribution to health inequality

Question 6

What is the behavioural-cultural explanation of health inequality?

Answer 6

• ill health is due to peoples choices, decisions, knowledge and goals
• Those from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to engage in health damaging behaviours and vice versa

Question 7

What are the limitations to the behavioural-cultural explanation of health inequalities?

Answer 7

• Behaviours are outcomes of social processes not simply choice
• ‘Choices’ difficult to exercise in adverse conditions

Question 8

What is the materialise explanation of health inequality?

Answer 8

• The most plausible explanation
• Inequalties arise from differential access to material resources eg low income, unemployment, work environment,
• Lack of choice in exposure to hazards adverse conditions eg poor housing
• Accumulation of factors

Question 9

What is the psychosocial explanation of health inequality?

Answer 9

• Stress impact on health

- Act in addition to materialist explanation

Question 10

What is the income distribution explanation of health inequality?

Answer 10

-Relative income affects health
-Contries with greater income inequalities have greater health inequalities
(egalitarian societies have least health inequalities)

Question 11

What is inequity?

Answer 11

-Inequalities between healthcare which are unfair and avoidable

Question 12

Which areas have the highest rates of GP and emergency services vs preventative and specialist services?

Answer 12

-Most deprived areas

Question 13

Why may deprived areas have a decreased utilisation of healthcare?

Answer 13

• Normalise ill-health
• Tendancy to manage health as a series of crises
• Lack of cultural alignment between health services and socioeconomic services

Question 14

How is access to healthcare measured? Why is thie problematic?

Answer 14

• Through utilisation

- Do not know anything about those people who are not/cant access healthcare

Question 15

How can ethnicity contribute to health inequalities?

Answer 15

• Culture can influence ways of doing /being
• Access to/exclusion from services and resources
• Genetic/biological factors

Question 16

How does gender influence health inequalities?

Answer 16

• Males have higher mortality rates and more rates of suicide and violent deaths
• Females have a higher life expectancy, higher reported mental health issures and higher rates of disability and longstanding illness