Socio-Economic Status Impacts Health of Society & Self - Essay Sample

Introduction

There is a huge effect of the socio and economic situation of an individual on the health of society and himself or herself. For instance, in case an individual would be unemployed, he may lack the income to take measures or eliminate homelessness which is the key cause of increased smoking. In low-income societies particularly people who were not initially exposed to health promotions campaigns, they lack insight on how to attend to their queries or health linked information. The social and economic situations of an individual will determine the nature and the degree of benefit he may use for his health and the comprehension of the health promotions initiatives that are coordinated for the health and safety of the people (Graham, 2004).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Health inequalities are usually a repercussion of lifestyle choices and behaviors. To make changes to the most socioeconomically deprived individuals in society, there is need to emphasize behavior transformation and lifestyle decisions. Unemployed people face many health challenges beyond the loss of income. Unemployed people have high chances of having fair or poor health. They are also likely to develop stress-linked conditions such as heart attack and stroke. Unemployment results in poverty which is the main cause of ill health. People who are forced to follow the inexpensive diets have little scope for healthy eating. Unemployment makes people shift to drug abuse which is detrimental to an individual's health.

The relationship between health and income is multi-faceted. For every increase in income, there is a linked higher level of good health. Income purchases the key essentials that people need for health like food, warmth, and shelter. It also permits them to avoid potentially harmful products that may affect their health. This shows that a fundamental level of monetary resources is required for good health. In well-advanced welfare frameworks, the health-damaging impacts of unexpected revenue loss due to redundancy or family failure may be lessened by the obtainability of well-being assistances. Societies offer numerous key services like healthcare and education but may differ in the amount and superiority of these, which may have inferences for populace wellbeing and health differences (Cookson, Propper, Asaria & Raine, 2016).

Access to information influences a person's health on a large scale. People are becoming increasingly interested in knowing about their health and ways that they can improve their wellbeing. Making health information accessible to people ensures that services are more accountable and health behavior is promoted. Additionally, it ensures that there is increased advice and emotional support from various people. Health information ensures that there is an increased insight that may result in more suitable use of health services, which in turn advances health status and reduced costs. Access to health information also respects the principle of independence.

The Significance of Government Sources in Publishing on Disparities in Health

Administration of each and every nation plays a crucial role in evaluating the level of health and preparation activities that have to be coordinated for a precise public. It is the government and its agents who make the accurate resolutions in addressing the dissimilarities in health. There are numerous government sources which are developed to assess and publish disparities in the health care community in the country. The Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS) is one of the reviews undertaken by the National Health Service in the UK. The HALS is undertaken with the support from domestic and national health services and from data collected with the backing of general practitioners. The HALS gathers information like social care systems, physical health, lifestyle behaviors, psychological health, physical undertakings and general health of the service users in the United Kingdom. The disparities in health care services are also recognized in the HALS (Smith, Morris & Shaw, 1998).

Variation in health by social class was reviewed by the Black Report (1980) which explored the issue of health disparities in the United Kingdom and discovered that people of lower economic status were more probable to encounter ill-health and premature death than those in high-economic status. The report inferred that in spite of the advancement in the general health of the populace, the advancement had not been equal in the entire social classes and the health 'niche' between lower and higher social classes was increasing. The Black report was supported by the Acheson Report (1998) and Health Divide (1987). Report outcomes proposed that there was a direct connection between socio-economic class and health and the probability of developing health issues such as throat cancer and respiratory disease was far much greater in the lower social classes (Smith et al, 1998).

The Acheson report which was steered by Donald Acheson was published in 1998 due to a UK query. The Acheson report was mostly referred to as 'Independent Inquiry into Inequalities of Health' report. Just like the Black Report that was issued earlier, the Acheson report was focused on identifying and evaluating the existing health discrepancies and how those differences correlated to the social class of the society. After the outcomes of the report were evaluated, there were 39 policy proposals in multiple sections like health services, agriculture, and taxation to decrease the health care inequalities. The outcomes and proposals provided in the Acheson report were crucial in establishing the Green paper in 1998 and the White paper in 1999 (Smith et al, 1998).

The Health Survey for England (HSE) tracks patterns in the country's health and care. It offers information concerning adults aged 16 and over and kids aged between 0 and 15, residing in private households in England. The survey is utilized to track health trends and to approximate the proportion of the people. The Community Health Research Foundations and Agencies are some of the sources which conduct public research. These institutions are responsible for the comparison of data on the different facets of wellbeing and protection of the whole public. Additionally, the Public Hospitals and Medical Services focus on the record on the wellbeing and security of the individuals.

Reasons for Barriers to Accessing Healthcare

Multiple elements can be noted to act as obstacles for acquiring health care services and receiving health care services for homeless people. The barriers entail factors like time, disabilities, unemployment, language issues, religion, mental ability, and attitudes. When people have disabilities, they will be incapable of going to the health care facilities and in case there are not able to acquire special transportation facilities, it will be hard for the disabled people to access health care services from a service facility. Some of the homeless people are disabled which makes the situation worse. In case practitioners intend to take health care services to the disabled people, it will be difficult to locate them because they have no fixed place to live.

Practitioner's negative attitudes are mainly due to the fact that people who are homeless have a greater prevalence of substance abuse and traumatic encounters which makes the homeless people misinterpret the practitioner's attitudes. Additionally, the practitioner's prejudice acts as a barrier to homeless individuals acquiring health care. Most people who smoke have a huge disregard for health care services. Reports indicate that some of the drug abuse cases are unaware of the theories behind health services. Thus, people avoid acquiring services from health care organizations even when the services are offered at no cost (Ali et al, 2013).

Transportation and other infrastructure linked issues also act as obstacles for acquiring health care services for homeless people. Without exceptional transport services and lifts for homeless people, it will be difficult for disabled people to access health care services. Lack of support and help from the whole community acts as a barrier to accessing health care services. In some cases, the individuals in the public are oblivious of the significance of health campaign and evidence. They offer erroneous information or fail to support the interventions providing the precise data. Homelessness is attributed to unemployment. When people do not have money to access health care, they become sick and unable to work (Ali et al, 2013).

The private health care services entail addressing conditions associated with smoking. Smoking results in the development of lung and throat cancer. Inability to acquire health care services can result from lack of income attributed to unemployment. People with a low level of education are unaware of the consequences of smoking.

Citizenship status is also one of the barriers to acquiring health care services in the UK. Access to health care services is universal but depends on the immigration status in the UK. Some immigrants may be charged for accessing certain health care services. Ordinary citizens in the UK are not charged for treatment. When a homeless immigrant seeks health services in the UK, it may be difficult due to the legal process followed.

Environmental factors can also be barriers to access to health care services. The factors related to the environment such as hygiene and safety are likely to determine the accessibility of health care. In regions where homelessness is high, there are relatively high rates of crime which may hinder the provision of health care services. Some practitioners may opt to provide health services elsewhere rather than risk their lives offering their services to crime-prone areas.

Links Between Government Policies and Smoking Cessation Programme

There are numerous approaches and actions that can be adopted by the administration to lessen the smoking rate and stop individuals from being addicted to smoking. The health promotion model selected for the provided case scenario is likely to rely on aspects such as character traits and behavioral results. The model selected is likely to assist in ascertaining the wellbeing and security facets of the people so that they can subsist and play a huge role in the wellbeing and advancement of hygiene philosophy within the society.

One of the approaches that have been implemented is the legislation which has proscribed smoking in public places. This legal guideline has been established with the motive of lessening bad influence on others for smoking, This approach can be linked to the Caplan & Holland (1990) health model which indicated that there existed four viewpoints of health strategies which included humanist, radical structural, radical humanist, and traditional outlooks. The approaches that are linked to legal guideline can be recognized as the radical structural viewpoint which is a section of the Caplan & Holland (1990) framework (Agus, 2005).

The legal guideline to ban smoking in public areas can be linked to the Beattie (1991) health model. The model stipulates that there exist four strategies that can be followed and include legislative actions, health influence by an expert, community development and individual counseling. This approach can be recognized as a section of the legal undertakings that follow the Beattie model. The smoke-free health initiative can be illustrated as a strategy emphasizing on offering health care linked information for the community members so that they can recognize threats that they are vulnerable by being a smoker. Thus, this approach can be linked to the Tannahil and Downie (1996) model of health which illustrates that there exist three pers...