Outline and evaluate the evidence of variations in health and illness by class, gender, age, ethnicity and religion

This essay is going to outline and evaluate the evidence of variations in health and illness by class, gender, age, ethnicity and religion. This essay will also evaluate sociological explanations for inequalities in health, for example, artefact, social selection, cultural, structural, psycho/social and life course. A standard form of referencing will be used. There are two reports which have been commissioned by the government to try and find some evidence of variations in health and illness. These are The Black Report (1980) chaired by Sir Douglas Black and The Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health by Sir Donald Acheson (1998). Firstly, in The Black Report inequalities in human health take a number of distinctive forms. Most attention is given to differences in health as measured over the years between the social (or more strictly occupational) classes. When comparing rates of mortality among men and women in each of the 5 classes. Taking the 2 extremes as a point of comparison it can be seen that for both men and women the risk of death before retirement is two-and-a-half times as great in class 5 (unskilled manua1 workers and their wives), as it is in class 1 (professional men and their wives). One of the most distinctive features of human health in the advanced societies is the gap in life expectancy between men and women. This phenomenon carries

  • Word count: 3641
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: Book Review.

Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: Book Review Mama Might Be Better Off Dead is a transcribed version of a three year study, partaken by author Laurie Kaye Abraham's, which successfully documents the lives of the Banes, an economically disadvantaged African American family residing in the neighborhood of North Lawndale. Readers of this book soon become cognizant of the fact that a good portion of Abraham's analysis fixates on the paucity of satisfactory medical care in the Banes household. Abraham works to uncover the effectiveness of various government health care programs, and has the ultimate goal of confirming or dispelling the notion that the services provided are on par with those of privately purchased medical plans. Through her personal accounts of the Banes family, Abraham reveals how the "health care policies cheat poor Americans out of an equal chance to lead fulfilling lives" (259). This analysis shall submit for discussion a few of the sociologically relevant findings uncovered in Abraham's study, including but certainly not limited to: the inadequacies of Medicaid and Medicare programs, issues of communication problems between doctors and economically disadvantaged patients, and issues relating to the general incompetence of some medical practitioners. An assessment of the scholarly value of Abraham's piece is then proffered, followed by a critique of some of

  • Word count: 1745
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Who, in your opinion, made the most significant contribution to improving the lives of British women

Who, in your opinion, made the most significant contribution to improving the lives of British women? There are many different ways in which someone can improve the lives of others, and, although many people improved the lives of British women, Josephine Butler made an invaluable and large contribution to many women's lives from 1868 - 1886. The health of women improved due to the efforts of some women, mainly Annie Besant, Josephine Butler and Edith Cavell, which helped to improve the general lives of British women. Besant wrote articles on birth control, bringing home to women that they did not have to have babies if they did not want to, which improved the health of many women, especially the unmarried women of the middle classes, who did not want babies. She also helped improve the health of working class women by publishing an article outlining the dangers of phosphorus fumes that women workers encountered in the Bryant and May match factory. The article also complained about the low wages paid to women in this factory, which involved in concessions being made to the women who worked there. She also helped children to improve their lives, securing free meals for the undernourished, and free medical examinations for children in primary schools. Edith Cavell, on the other hand helped men and women alike in regaining health. She became a nurse, and gave tremendous help

  • Word count: 1334
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Acute and Enduring Health Care Needs

Acute and Enduring Health Care Needs Clinically Focused Essay Mrs X is 75 year old lady admitted to a respiratory ward on the 22nd May 2004, with exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is a disease characterised by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. Mrs X was bought in by ambulance after her husband found her struggling to breathe; Mrs X has been on permanent home oxygen and nebulisers for approximately one year. She lives with her husband in a house in south London, and was diagnosed with COPD one year ago, as a result of her illness the couple are waiting to be moved to a home with a bathroom on the ground floor as it is not practical for Mrs X to climb the stairs to the bathroom in her current home. Previous to this admission she had four admissions within the last year all related to her breathing. COPD is not Mrs X's only complaint she has non insulin dependent diabetes, asthma, hypertension, swollen ankles, and is overweight on admission she weighed 102kg and has Body Mass Index of 32. At the age of 52 Mrs X had cancer of the breast and subsequently her left breast was partially removed. Mrs X eats a diabetic diet and monitors her own blood sugar levels four times a day on admission she was taking metformin Hydrochloride, 500 mg tablets and was taking three tablets a day one with each meal. Her diabetes was well controlled but

  • Word count: 2025
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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How do the images of childhood affect attitudes towards childcare? How have these images influenced childcare practices in Singapore? Discuss.

QUESTION: How do the images of childhood affect attitudes towards childcare? How have these images influenced childcare practices in Singapore? Discuss. Without a doubt, pre-conceptual images of childhood do affect our attitudes towards childcare, as to how and the extent of impact these images may have will be what I shall be discussing later. Indeed such influences have and will continue to affect the way we treat or look at children, however not neglecting other important factors that comes into consideration, like environment, culture, race and even modern technologies, as they too shall define the way we live our lives, hence affecting our attitudes towards child care. Thus, I have categorized them into the four main images and will try to explore the effects that each one of them has and how they have contributed towards our outlook and approach with regards to childcare. The four main images are the miniature adult, the sinner, the child as property and the schooled child. (Book 1, Chapter 1, pp 6-10). Subsequently I shall discuss the four common childcare practices or child care methods prevalent in Singapore and how those images have influenced our child care practices here . Hence I have circled them

  • Word count: 1891
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Health care and Advertising; The problems that arise in the field of Pharmaceuticals.

Health care and Advertising; The problems that arise in the field of Pharmaceuticals Intro Healthcare advertising and marketing is on the rise. Few healthcare providers even had marketing departments in the 1970's. Now, even mainstream providers are investing in their images. Advertising often helps the consumer make choices amid a large number of options. But consumer patient choice is increasingly limited by managed care plans, adding a layer of irony to the spread of direct advertising. In this paper I would like to talk about advertising, specifically in the healthcare field, go over some the problems, and try to find solution to some of the problems in the industry, and try to express my opinions on the matter. What is Advertising Advertising is salesmanship. The only purpose of advertising is to make sales. It can either be profitable or unprofitable. It is any form of non-personal presentation and promotion of goods, ideas, or services by an identified sponsor. Advertising is used for business firms, non-profit organizations, professionals, and social agencies. Major decisions in advertising include objective setting, budget decisions, message, and media decisions, and campaign evaluation. It is a way of promoting products, services, or information. It is a way for business to communicate with consumers in a visual manor. It started in the 17th century with

  • Word count: 2308
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Inequalities of Health Care.

Foundations of Health September 2003 Cohort Student Number: 03970336 Inequalities of Health Care There can be many definitions of health; it is all in accordance with what the individual defines it as. Seedhouse (1987) and Blaxter (1990) suggest that it will mean many different things to many different people. "The definition of health is a contested issue, however in the late twentieth century there has been a development in health promotion work". (www.sunderland.ac.uk/~hs0bgr/enlec/enlec1) A persons own definition is very important as this is how you interpret your own and others health. One outlook on health by Antonovsky (1987) is that "health can be viewed as the opposite to illness in a traditional sense or it can be interpreted as being a continuum between health/ease and dis/ease". This essay will be outlining some of the inequalities of health and what has been done to improve them, also what can be done in the future to combat the inequalities. Health inequalities can and are directly caused by differences in "socio-economic status, ethnicity and ability and ultimately related to differences in income, education, employment, material environment and lifestyle" (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk, 2004). These inequalities also coincide with the biological and psychological factors, which will be covered as part of this essay. Health promotion is a large area

  • Word count: 2392
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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Discuss the care pathway of an adult patient who has undergone a surgical /acute procedure. Critically examine one aspect of this pathway.

Care pathways aim to assist care delivery, by providing guidance, milestones and expected outcomes over a set time period (Herring, 1999). Throughout this assignment, the care pathway for women undergoing a full abdominal hysterectomy will be discussed. To do this the term hysterectomy will be defined, and some common conditions resulting in the procedure will be identified. As will recent trends relating to hysterectomies in the United Kingdom. Care pathways will then be discussed, in relation to the nurses' role at each stage. The short comings and advantages of using such frameworks will also be identified. In doing this legal and ethical considerations, along with the principals of holistic care in a surgical environment, to meet the needs patients from a diverse society will be addressed. Within this the focus will turn to post operative pain, and the tools used in its assessment. Some common tools used in the assessment of pain will be identified, compared and critically analysed. Hysterectomy refers to the surgical removal of the uterus; this may or may not involve the removal of the ovaries, fallopian tubes and cervix depending on the nature of the patients condition (Castledine & Close, 2006). This is a major operation and is usually carried out as an elective procedure. The procedure may be carried out abdominally, using a horizontal incision on the lower

  • Word count: 4091
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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What is Health Psychology?

What is Health Psychology? Through the course of this essay I will consider what is meant by the term health, then I shall critically evaluate some of the factors and issues that are associated with the origins of health psychology, then present definitions and goals for this field of psychological study considering its role within the health care system and its methods of research. In order to discuses what is health psychology we need to look firstly at the changing definitions of what can be defined as health and secondly how the application of Psychology can be applied to this field of study. The World health organisation defined health as " a complete state of physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". This differed significantly from previous definitions, which had defined health in negative terms, as the 'absence of disease, dysfunction, pain, suffering or discomfort'. The WHO definition is a more holistic approach and incorporates the psychological aspects that are associated with health. Kaplan (1993) states, "a second important aspect of this definition is the recognition of the various dimensions of health status, including physical, mental and social aspects. Previous definitions of health had emphasized only the physical components". Therefore health is not just the absence of disease, health is a multi

  • Word count: 2143
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT

Reflective account During the first term of my physiotherapy degree, I was sent out one day a week for 12 weeks on an observational placement in various departments. During one of my observational placements as a physiotherapy student, I was following a physiotherapist in a intensive care unit (ICU). The physiotherapist had a list of patients that she had to see and treat. The first patient we went to see was a patient who had been involved in a serious accident and who had severe brain damage. The physiotherapist at the time had told me before we went in to see the patient that the doctors had diagnosed him as being brain dead. The physiotherapist then told me that she did not agree with the diagnosis given. When we went in the patient was none responsive verbally. As the physiotherapist walked in she began talking to the patient. The patient did not respond to her. She then went on to talk about the treatment that she was about to do. When the physiotherapist was treating this patient she was talking to the patient even though the patient was not aware that the physiotherapist was there. The physiotherapist still had to ask the patient for consent when carrying out the treatment even though there was no verbal response from the patient. When the physiotherapist was passively stretching the patient's foot, she told the patient that I know you don't like it but we have to

  • Word count: 2186
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
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