The Greatest Impact Of The Health Inequality Of Health

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There are many dimensions of inequality, which have the greatest impact on health outcomes. These dimensions are class, sex and gender and ethnicity. The health outcomes are different for each country. World Health Organisation defines 'health ' as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity" (1948). John Germov (2013, p. 16) wrote a chapter on ‘Imagining Health Problems as Social Issues’ in Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, he mentions the ‘social model of health’ where the social determinants of health, which are economic, social and cultural factors, are being looked at closely to how these factors are linked to focus on preventing the illness.

One …show more content…

National Health Strategy (1992, p. 19-20) state that in Australia those who are in the “lowest socioeconomic status have the highest standardised death rate” and are also more likely to “suffer from chronic and recent physical conditions, and are more likely to report mental and emotional problems”. However, they do mention that people in the low socioeconomic status do health services, such as doctors and hospitals, take advantages of these health services (National Health Strategy, 1992, p. 20). Men and female who are living in the worst socioeconomic area have the highest death rates, compared to those living in a better socioeconomic area (National Health Strategy, 1992, p. 28). In the next section of this assignment, it will discuss how sex and gender also has an impact on health …show more content…

26, no. 2, p. 273

Germov, J 2013, ‘Imagining Health Problems as Social Issues’, in J Germov (ed.), Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, 5th edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, p.16

Germov, J 2013, ‘The Class Origins of Health Inequality’ in J Germov (ed.), Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, 5th edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, p. 82

Graham, H 2000, ‘Socio-economic change and inequalities in men and women’s health in the UK’, in E Annandale & K Hunt (eds), Gender Inequalities in Health, Open University Press, Buckingham; Philadelphia, pp. 94-96

Julian, R 2013, ‘Ethnicity, Health, and Multiculturalism’, in J Germov (ed.), Second Opinion: An Introduction to health Sociology, 5th edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, p.165 – 166

National Health Strategy 1992, ‘Enough to make you sick: How income and environment affect health’, Australia

Smith, G 2003, ‘Learning to live with complexity: ethnicity, socioeconomic postion, and health in Britain and the US’, in G Smith (ed), Health inequalities: Lifecourse approaches, The Policy Press, Bristol, UK,

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