Social/ Community Explanation

Question 1

What is the social/ community explanation for health inequalities?

Answer 1

Places with characteristics like high crime, poor public transport/services will have worse health (stress)

Question 2

Judgment of communities

Answer 2

If people in a community have a problem, some will deem that the community will have some sort of ‘deficiency’ and be looked down upon in a somewhat dismissive way.

Question 3

What is blamed for social/ community explanations?

Answer 3

Seen as a lack of resilience rather than the structural factors that led us to the predicament.
Blames overall communities rather than systemic circumstances (remember the Doy family on I’m Killing the Kids)

Question 4

What is often the cause of social/ community problems?

Answer 4

Lack of cultural awareness/cultural capital needed for self-health.

Question 5

How can social/ community problems be helped?

Reading: (WHO, 2010)

Answer 5

In some cases, having social groups with similar cultural identification can lead to sharing of responsibilities and a community around them in which can be relied upon to help with life tasks.

Social support refers to the help people receive from others and can include practical assistance (such as giving friends or neighbors ‘a hand’ with certain tasks), advice, financial support and emotional support.

Question 6

What are social relationships important for?

Readings: (Almedom, 2005)

Answer 6

Social relationships are important for health, while isolation and loneliness are risk factors for a range of psychological and physical health problems.