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Thesis of Social Determinants of Health
Thesis of Social Determinants of Health
Thesis of Social Determinants of Health
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Introduction Over the past quarter century there has been a growing body of support for the importance of understanding the relationship between poor living conditions and ill-health. These conditions have been referred to as the social determinants of health. There has been a strong push amongst policy makers to study the non-medical determinants of health as opposed to the traditional narrow way of thinking with regards to medical treatments or lifestyle choices (Mikkonen, Raphael 2010). Income and income distribution is thought to be the most important of the social determinants of health because it further influences other social determinants of health for example, low-income families are forced to live under circumstances of material and social deprivation which make it very difficult for families to be able to afford the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing and housing (Kekkonen, Raphael 2010). Studies have shown that suicide rates and the onset of many diseases such as diabetes and heart disease is significantly more prevalent amongst low income Canadians than there more affluent counter-parts. One policy that has often been implemented by governments as a means to alleviate poverty and to increase income equality is the minimum wage policy. There has been an ongoing debate over whether increasing the minimum wage is an effective policy to alleviate poverty in society and provide a more equal distribution of wealth or, if it has further negative implications on the working poor due to the effects that minimum wage policies have on employment and the job market. This paper will explore the historical background of the minimum wage and discuss the reasons for its establishment. Both sides to the argument... ... middle of paper ... ...inimum wages when set to meet or exceed Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off can help ensure that all workers receive at least a fair and just wage for their labour (Goldberg, green 1999). One’s level of income determines their overall living conditions and this determines a number of other social determinants of health such as food security or housing. Inappropriate minimum wages and income inequalities lead to material and social deprivation which further leads to poor health because the basic needs for health such as food, clothing and housing cannot be afforded. Policies to reduce poverty such as increasing minimum wages appropriately to meet the true costs of living needs to be addressed by governments and policy makers immediately and this will also help to alleviate cost pressures on our healthcare system (Raphael, Mikkonen).
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are increasingly becoming a major problem of Public Health around the World. The impact of resources and material deprivation among people and populations has resulted in an increase in mortality rate on a planetary scale. Social determinants of health are defined as the personal, social, economic and the environmental conditions which determines the health status of an individual or population (Gardner, 2013). Today’s society is characterized by inequalities in health, education, income and many other factors which as a result is becoming a burden for Public Health around the world. Research studies have shown that the conditions in which people live and work strongly influenced their health. Individuals with high levels of education and fall within the high income bracket turn to have stable jobs, live in the best neighborhood and have access to quality health care system than individuals who have low education and fall with the low income bracket. This paper is to explain different social determinants of health and how they play ...
Ramisch, Claudia. ?Living on Minimum Wage.? ENGL 1302H Class Presentation, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro, KY. 13 March 2006.
In Canada there is no official, government mandated poverty line. It is generally agreed that poverty refers to the intersection of low-income and other dimensions of ‘social exclusion’, including things such as access to adequate housing, essential goods and services, health and well-being and community participation. In Canada, the gap between the rich and poor is on the rise, with four million people struggling to find decent affordable housing, (CHRA) and almost 21% of children in BC are living in poverty it is crucial to address poverty (Stats Can). In class we have considered a number of sociological lens to examine poverty. Structural-functionalists maintain that stratification and inequality are inevitable and
Poverty and low wages have been a problem ever since money became the only thing that people began to care about. In Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, she presents the question, “How does anyone live on the wages available to the unskilled?” This question is what started her experiment of living like a low wage worker in America. Ehrenreich ends up going to Key West, Portland, and Minneapolis to see how low wage work was dealt with in different states. With this experiment she developed her main argument which was that people working at low wages can’t live life in comfort because of how little they make monthly and that the economic system is to blame.
“…three major provincial social welfare programs to reduce poverty is assessed for each province across time. These programs are Social Assistance, Provincial Tax Credits, and Workers’ Compensation” (Weaver, Habibov & Fan, 2011). As the quote explains, these plans seek to reduce the appearance of poverty across different provinces across Canada as well as to monitor how changing government officials may or may not have an impact on the overall financial standings within each individual province and/or territory. It is unclear whether or not poverty standings will begin to change in Canada and across the world. It is the responsibility of the governments and community leaders to ensure that residents within the community have adequate access to the necessary resources and funds needed in order for highest quality of life possible. “Many elements of false consciousness (particularly denial of injustice and exploitation, rationalization of social roles, and false attribution of blame) are directly relevant to attributions for poverty and wealth and are considered to be key mechanisms through which individuals justify the system” (Godfrey & Wolf, 2015). Without civil and unbiased leadership, there will continue to be issues at the structural level of any given
Raphael, D. D. (2002). Poverty, Income Inequality and Health in Canada. CSJ Foundation for Research and Education, 1-32.
...e are all affected by low income. As MacRae et al. (2012, p. 42) mentioned, Indigenous people who reported no usual daily intake of fruit or vegetables were more likely to be the lowest quintile of income. And another example from Bourke et al. (2012, p.501) indicates that lower income of the Aboriginal residents of Ruralsville, as well as low social status and socially marginalised, all leads to poorer health status. People with low income are more likely having trouble to get the treatment they need. Some of them cannot afford the medication for a specific disease. A study by Kemp et al. (2013, p.21) shows that, prescription medicines for chronic disease pose a substantial financial burden to people who had low incomes. If a patient cannot get the medication or the surgery, his/her health status will affect by this situation, and eventually leads to bad outcome.
Pierre, N., Pollack, N., & Fafard, P. (2007). Health Policies and Trends for Selected Target Groups in Canada.
Disparities in cancer are caused by the complex interaction of low economic status, culture, and social injustice, with poverty playing the dominant role (Freeman, 2004). So I ask the question: Does socioeconomics impact a man’s prostate health?
The essay will be looking at , poverty, employment and unemployment, poor diets as determinants of health in this context amongst other factors such as housing, mental health, social support network, education, culture, individual behaviours, genetics, gender because they have the best documented evidence on research in health inequalities in Britain available in the Black Report (DHSS 1980; Townsend, Davidson and Whitehead, 1992), Acheson Report (Acheson 1998), and FairSociety, HealthyLives Report, and other academic sources.
Gavin Turrell, B. F. (1999). Socioeconomic Determinants of Health:Towards a National Research Program and a Policy and Intervention Agenda. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology.
Inequality in Canada is a growing problem. As income rises for the rich and remains the same for the poor, a gap is forming between Canada’s highest and lowest earners. This gap has sparked outrage by some, resulting in the Occupy Movement, and apathy in others. However, it can indeed be said that in Canada “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.”
Nearly 50,000 people, including 30,000 children, die each day due to poverty-related problems and preventable disease in underdeveloped Countries. That doesn’t include the other millions of people who are infected with AIDS and other incurable diseases. Especially those living in Sub-Saharan Africa (70%), or “the Third-World,” and while we fight to finish our homework, children in Africa fight to survive without food, or clean water. During the next few paragraphs I will give proof that poverty and disease are the two greatest challenges facing under developed countries.
The change in our society from having rich, middle, and poor economic statuses has caused our society to crumble. The increase of low waged workers has increased tremendously. The decline in wages cause parents to work 2-3 jobs just to make the bills, which in turn has caused parents and children’s relationships to fail, which also in turn cause the children to have behavioral issues, which in turn cause violence rates to increase. Every time you turn on the television, all you observe and hear about is violence in our world. Our society is crumbling out of control due to the low wage jobs and inequality of wages among workers and if not addressed and improved our future will not survive.
LIM, 21.7% of Canadian families lived in poverty.” Using these as an understanding of poverty in