Israel Eguaogie
HNC Health and Social Care-Care Practice
Unit 8: Social Issues in Healthcare
11-01-2010
Assignment 2
The term health inequalities describe the fact that health varies between individuals: the term refer to the systematic differences in the health of groups occupying unequal positions in society (socioeconomic groups).
In 1977 a committee was set up by the Labour Government headed by Sir Douglas Black to research the health chances of the population of Britain. Sir Douglas Black and his team came out with a report on inequalities health with emphasis on social class differences in health. This report is referred to as “The black report”.
The black report confirmed that there is a class gradient to Health, thus the inequalities associated to social class.
The report however, used four theories to explain social class differences in health, which are:
The behaviour / cultural theory – this explains self negligence among the lower class group, e.g. Irregular or no medical check-ups, poor / wrong dieting, insufficient exercise, irregular visit to the dentist. It also emphasized that the lower class engage in activities detrimental to health, e.g. smoking, Alcohol consumption. This argument sees the individual as bearing primary responsibilities for poor health (Anthony G. 2001). These habits are transcended to their children therefore transmitting ill health across the generations. I t is also explained that such behaviours are embedded in the social context rather than individual control which describes lifestyle and consumption as causes of poor health.
Another theory is the Structural / material theory; sees a number of factors that influences poorer health in the lower social class group, e.g. Inadequate housing (overcrowding), low income, poor diet, dangerous working environment (exposure to asbestos causes cancer), stress and depression. These factors in turn leads to immediate gratification (smoking, drinking and use of drugs), reducing access to quality health care. It also linked material deprivation to health inequalities between classes (Anthony G. 2001)
Natural and Social selection theory- it explains that people are in the lower social group as a result of their poor health, which prevents them from obtaining and maintaining high ranking jobs. It further describes that lower class group as a consequence rather than the cause of poor health. Peter T. (1988) further explained that people with poor drift to the bottom of the Registrar General occupational scale (Peter, T. 2001). This can be argued against because the lower social class group rely on the public health insurance which provides the minimal quality of care while the upper social class have private insurance which provides maximal health care.
