Health Inequalities

Question 1

How can socioeconomic status be measured

Answer 1

Individual occupation or the area which they live in

Question 2

How is health measured

Answer 2

Life expectancy and infant mortality

Question 3

How is deprivation measured

Answer 3

Index of multiple deprivation (census data)

Question 4

How does socioeconomic position affect health

Answer 4

More deprived = less good health
More deprived = higher infant mortality
More deprived = lower disability free life and life expectancy

Summary: more deprived = larger proportion of life spent in ill health and more likely to die young

Question 5

Black report explanations

Answer 5

Artefact
Social selection
Behavioural cultural
Materialist

Question 6

Other explanations and theories for ill health

Answer 6

Psychosocial

Income distribution

Question 7

What is artefact explanation

Answer 7

Health inequalities are shown because of the way the statistics are collected
Discredited

Question 8

Social selection explanation

Answer 8

Health affects your social position

If you are ill you move down social hierarchy

Question 9

Behavioural cultural explanation

Answer 9

Ill health is due to peoples decisions, knowledge and goals

Doesn’t take into account social aspects that influence behaviour

Question 10

Materialist explanation

Answer 10

Inequalities rise from different access to material resources
Eg. Low income, unemployment
ACCUMULATION

Question 11

What are psychosocial explanations

Answer 11

Data from Whitehall studies
Stress impacts health
Act in addition of direct effects from material living standards
Stressors are on social gradient - negative life events, job security

Question 12

Income distribution states:

Answer 12

Countries with greater income inequalities have greater health inequalities
Egalitarian (everyone equal rights) societies have best health

Question 13

Income distribution and psychosocial explanation

Answer 13

Larger income inequality = larger social evaluative threat (rejection from others) = larger stress = bad health

Question 14

How do we measure access to healthcare

Answer 14

Utilisation studies measure use of services

How to we measure people who do not utilise?

Question 15

Deprivation patterns of access

Answer 15

Most deprived groups have:
Higher use of GP and emergency services
Under use of preventative services (screening) and specialist services (cancer treatments0

Question 16

Why do more deprived people access healthcare less

Answer 16

Manage health as a series of crises
Normalisation of ill health 
Lack of cultural alignment 
Social eligibility affect referrals 
Don’t have resources to access health services