Social inequalities in health Flashcards
definition of social inequality
condition where people have unequal access to valued resources, services and positions in society
social gradient in health
progressive improvement in health outcomes as the socioeconomic status or class position is raised
also be represented as progressive worsening of health outcomes in groups of lower social status, income, social class, occupation
link between poverty and poor mental health
low status associated with higher prevalence of mood disorders
psychoses shows relationship with social class
physical health and status
social deprivation shows marked gradient in prevalence of obesity
lower social privilege at greatest risk of becoming obese
increasing socioeconomic deprivation increases incidence of obesity
regional discrepancies
gradient seen across social groups
disparity larger in north
greater gap in health
social divisions and inequality
social class
gender
ethnicity
age
dimensions of social inequality
different levels of income
different levels of resources
different power levels
different status levels
different levels of social capital
different class types original
upper
upper middle
middle
working
lower
social class definition
divisions in society
based on economic and social status
people in same social class typically share similar level of wealth, educational achievement, type of job and income
what are the 7 social classes in Britain
precariat
traditional working
emergent service workers
technical middle class
new affluent workers
established middle class
elite
precariat
poorest
most deprived
low levels of economic cultural and social capital
traditional working class
more older members than other classes
scores low on all forms of capita
emergent service workers
young
often found in urban areas
new class has low economic capital but has high levels of emerging cultural capital and high social capital
technical middle class
less culturally engaged new class with high economic capital
small in numbers
relatively few social contact
new affluent workers
generally young and active
members have medium levels of economic capital and higher levels of cultural and social capital
established middle class
not quite elite
high levels of all 3 capitals
gregarious and culturally engaged
elite
most privileged
high levels of all 3 capitals
economic capital sets them apart from everyone else
the black report
showed those in lower socio-economic groups had far higher risk of dying prematurely than more advantaged groups
showed extent to which ill health and death are unequally distributed among population
inequalities werent attributable to failings of NHS but other social inequalities
relationship between social class and health
artefact explanations
natural or social selection
materialist and structural explanations
cultural/behavioural explanations
artefact
natural and social selection
materialist/structuralist explanations
poverty
1 in 5 in UK live in poverty
over half of these live in working households
employment
young adults who are unemployed are twice as likely to suffer from mental ill health thanthosei n work
education
lowest health life expectancy 3x more likely to have no qualifications
socialisation experience plays significant role in transmission of crucial modern form of deprivation
life expectancy and social gradient
more deprived area
shorted life expectancy
cultural/behavoural
habitus
patterns of thinking
ways of acting and lasting dispositions
learnt in childhood
provide sense of social place in world
dominant form of stratification in the UK
social class
how do we tackle health inequalities
take action of causes of the causes
social determinants of health
