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).
Income inequality is the distribution of salary across the economy. The percentage of the income compare with the percentage of the population determines the “fair” and “unfairness” of wealth compared with salaries of the population. Wilkinson provides a sociological alternative to past research and has equivalent measures of inequality in different societies, and may actually see the affect that it has on poverty, health behaviors, and the cultural aspects of social relations. He believes income inequality is most important explanation of social disasters. A great definition of Wilkinson’s income inequality hypothesis is, “an individual’s health is influenced not only by their own level of income, but by the level of inequality in the area in which they live.” (DeMaio 2010 p. 60). Wilkinson suggests four pathways that explain why income inequality is a social determinant of health.
Also to expose how minimum wage is terrible and how life can be unbearable. The author goes over ways that we could fix this problem as well to raise awareness about minimum wage salaries. Ehrenreich wants to improve the lives who have minimum wage jobs and also to answer her question on can a young adult live on minimum wage.
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
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.
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.
Raphael, Dennis. Poverty in Canada: implications for health and quality of life. 2nd ed. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc., 2011. Print.
Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time”. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in poverty. If the government had started to provide efficient support to help decrease the rates of poverty, this would not have been such a significant issue in Canada. Even though the issue of poverty has always been affecting countries regardless of the efforts being made to fight against it, the government of Canada still needs to take charge and try to bring the percentage of poverty down to ensure that Canada is a suitable place to live. Therefore, due to the lack of support and social assistance from the government, poverty has drastically increased in Canada.
Raphael, D. D. (2002). Poverty, Income Inequality and Health in Canada. CSJ Foundation for Research and Education, 1-32.
Current research suggests the countries with the smallest income differences have the best health status rather than the richest countries. Where income differences remain great, as in this country, health inequalities will persist. For example: Children in the lowest social class are five times more likely to die from an accident than those in the top social class, Infant mortality rates are highest among the lowest social
Even in the most prosperous countries, people who are less affluent have considerably shorter life expectancies and much more sicknesses than people who are wealthy. Social determinants are considered to be the circumstances in the places where people dwell, gain knowledge of life situations, where someone’s job is, where we have fun, and age which is also included as a social determinant. These social determinants have an effect on a wide array of health risks and outcomes. “These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national, and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities--the unfair and avoidable
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.
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 ...
Graham (2004) & Taylor (1996), posits that social determinants of health came out of a search for a certain mechanism that allowed people from unique socioeconomic backgrounds to experience varying degrees of health and illness (as cited by Raphael, 2010). This idea takes into consideration that one’s socioeconomic status affect one’s health and pervasiveness of diseases at varying levels. McMullin & Davies (2010), observes, people who have more money, with higher education, and have better jobs tend to live longer and do not get as sick as do those with lower incomes, lower education, and bad jobs Hence, the relationship between social inequality, social determinants of health and poor health outcomes. However, in addition to socioeconomic status, some other social determinants of health include: “social support networks, education, employment and working conditions, physical and social environments, biology and genetic endowment, personal health practices and coping skills, healthy child development, gender, culture, and health services”, (p. 147). They are circumstances in which people usually have no control; they are born in, grow with, live, work, and age with some of these
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.
Canadians work very hard to earn an honorable lifestyle however there are a lot of Canadians the still are not able to feed themselves or their family. Most food banks do not have enough donations that they give to fill people as these events rely on donations and most companies instead of donating they throw away the food causing food banks to have less amount to give to the poor (Alison Howard, 2013). This is a serious issue because people have a wrong perspective of food banks but what they don’t know is that if food companies decide to throw it away instead of donating, this causes food banks to have limited amount of supplies which results to not all individuals getting enough food, harming their dietary intake (Howard & Edge, 2013). The social determinants of this would be associated with low income families not receiving enough nutrition in their diet. This shows that families with low income do not receive enough nutrition and due to low income and lack of education, under these conditions they are unable to provide a proper diet and accept food from food banks. Also, another social statue that plays an important role is unemployment because since some people are not financially stable this causes them to have difficulty providing for their families and end up starving and face critical health conditions in their lifetime, this is one reason food banks are presented as they help provide such families