Session 2: Health Inequalities

Question 1

What is the relationship between health and social class in Britain today?

Answer 1

The higher the socioeconomic position, better health

Question 2

What is the relationship between health and gender in Britain today?

Answer 2

Women have longer life expectancy

Question 3

What are some explanations for health inequalities?

Answer 3

1. Artifact
2. Social selection
3. Behavioral-cultural
4. Materialist
5. Psychosocial
6. Income distribution

Question 4

What is the artifact explanation?

Answer 4

Health inequalities are evident due to the way statistics are collected (concerns about quality of data and method of measurement)

Question 5

What is the social selection explanation?

Answer 5

Direction of causation is from health to social position

Because of their sickness, they are in their current social position

Question 6

What is the behavioral-cultural explanation?

Answer 6

Ill health is due to people’s choices, knowledge and goals

Question 7

What is the materialist explanation?

Answer 7

Inequalities in health arise from differential access to material resources

Question 8

What is the psychosocial explanation?

Answer 8

Psychological and social state of people leads to poor health, in addition to direct effects of absolute material living standards

Question 9

What is the income distribution explanation?

Answer 9

Larger income inequality = larger health inequalities

Question 10

What are the evidences of inequities in access to healthcare?

Answer 10

More deprived groups have:

• higher rates of use of GP and emergency services
• under use of preventive and specialist services

Question 11

Why is there an inequity in access to healthcare?

Answer 11

• more deprived tend to manage health as a series of crises
• normalization of ill health
• difficulty marshaling resources needed
• lack of cultural alignment