Social Patterning of Health and Illness Flashcards
Definition of social capital
The network of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling society to function effectively
How has the type disease changed over history
- Early humans
- Agriculture
- Urbanisation
- Globalisation
Early human
-parasites, violence, injury due to hunting
Agriculture
-epidemic disease due to people gathering and living together
Urbanisation
-infection, due to unsanitary living conditions
Globalisation
-chronic disease, obesity due to lifestyle changes and affluence
What are the health consequences on demographic changes
- Better sanitation, health care, food distribution
- Decline in infectious disease
- Better child survival
- Rise in non communicable disease due to
- ageing population
- behaviour changes
Define the social determinants of health
Conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, age and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life
How do social factors affect health and disease
Social factors => health behaviour/environment => health outcomes
Summarise the findings of the Black Report
Demonstrated that both mortality and morbidity from all causes were on a gradient with worse health for those lower down the social scale
What are the 4 possible explanations for the findings of the Black Report
- Artefacts of measurements
- Not every death was recorded in more skilled workers - Social selection
- Poor health => worse social outcomes - Cultural/behavioural
- Higher social classes more likely to look after health - Material circumstances
- Social differences in income, diet, housing, working environment
Summarise the findings of the Whitehall Studies
Cohort study : mortality and morbidity in British Civil Servants
Health inequalities existed
-even when behaviour and working conditions were controlled
Psychosocial mediators affected health
What are the 3 limits of cultural/behavioural explanations
Don’t explain why culture/behaviour differ between social groups
Causes of causes not addressed
Don’t account for material constraints that lead to certain behaviours (money, location etc)
Describe the effects of ineqaulity on health in the more affluent countries
Amongst the richest societies, those that were most inequal had the worst outcomes in
- physical and mental health
- obesity
- teen pregnancy and drug use
Gradient for social and health problems still present here
How can economic growth affect health outcomes
There is a point where economic growth has reached the limits of what it can do for health
The higher the income inequality => health and social problems get worse
Describe the importance of social support
The more social contacts you have => lower mortality from all causes
Isolation and loneliness related to mortality
-isolation remained significant once other demographic factors were controlled
What is the social capital
The network of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling society to function effectively
What are the 5 factors that social capital involves
Civic participation
-voting, taking action in local/national issues
Social networks and support
-friends and family
Social participation
-groups, volunteering
Reciprocity and trust
-giving and receiving favours
Views about the neighbourhood
-satisfaction and problems
What 2 factors can negatively affect the social capital of an area
High residential turnover
Concentrated disadvantage
- high non owner occupier
- high population density
Lead to distrust, uncertainty and weakens incentives to invest in the community
