Socially determined inequality of health opportunities

 

Socially determined inequality of health opportunities

 

The concept of socially determined inequality of health opportunities describes the connection between social and health factors. These can be stratified horizontally and vertically, which means that social inequality in health can be demonstrated for similarly classifying differences such as age or gender and subordinate differences such as poverty, lack of education, or professional status. Consequently, there is a statistical increase in the risk of illness among socially disadvantaged people. This inequality is empirically examined by medical sociology and social disparities research.

 

There are different theories about this:

 

1. Causality hypothesis: Poverty makes you sick: This can manifest itself directly (malnutrition or malnutrition) or indirectly ( gratification crisis ).

2. Selection or drift hypothesis: Illness makes you low: Conversely, sick people may be more challenging to integrate into working life.

3. Poverty or illness are both caused by a third factor.

Social health inequalities worldwide

Poverty often has consequences for health.

At international conferences, the term "health inequality" has become established to denote health inequalities between different population groups. The World Health Organization publishes information on issues related to health inequality. The connection between social inequality and health is also the subject of the World Health Report.

 

In Canada, social inequality in health opportunities received public attention through the LaLonde Report. In Great Britain, the 1980 Black Report documented inequalities.

Social health inequalities in the United States

In the United States, the health disparities among minority communities such as African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and whites are well documented. When these minority groups are compared with the white population, there is an increased incidence of chronic diseases, higher mortality rates, and lower health opportunities. [One of the disease-specific ethnic inequalities in the United States is the 10% increase in cancer incidence among African Americans compared to whites. Besides, adult Latinos and African Americans are approximately two times more likely than whites to develop diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular disease rates, the likelihood of acquiring HIV / AIDS, and infant mortality are also higher than those of whites.

 

Areas in which there is no access to fresh food are called food deserts in the USA. The way to the next supermarket or discounter is much longer there than to the next fast-food restaurant. In this context, according to a study by the US Department of Agriculture, it is considered problematic that in the US, 23.5 million people, one in ten without a car, live in areas with meager average incomes and drive a mile or more to the nearest supermarket have to.

 

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University took blood samples from 9-year-old boys whose social milieu was reflected in the telomeres' length. Disadvantaged children who suffer from chronic stress have shorter telomeres than socially better-off children. The influence of chronic stress on the accelerated shortening of the telomeres is assumed in the household of dopamine and serotonin.