Well-being Across the Life Course (MOD003113)

Health and Well-being
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Social inequalities in health:
Social inequality is the unequal opportunities and rewards for social status and services
within a group or society (Warwick-Booth, 2018). People living in the least deprived areas of
UK live approximately 20 years duration of their life in good health in comparison to the
people living in the deprived areas (Cooper et al., 2017; Nordahl, 2014). Inequality exists in
several forms like socioeconomic deprivation and social characteristics like age and sex
(Wadham et al., 2012) Social health inequalities of adults with learning disability are
associated with diverse social aspects like poverty, unemployment and poor housing
(Warwick-Booth, 2018). Health inequality in poor and rich people evident from the life
expectancy. Really – how, because of their learning disability? Where is this information
from or your own assumption? It is evident that approximately 10 years life expectancy
difference between poor and rich people Ref. Approximately 6 % people with learning
disability have paid job; however, most of the people with learning disability wish to do job
to prove themselves equal to the non-disabled people (Macintyre et al., 2005) Welfare
Reform Act 2012 made the way for the local authorities to provide housing facilities for
people with learning disability (Butler, 2016; Stait and Calnan, 2016). It is difficult for these
people to earn on their own due to immobility and lack of skills to perform in necessary job.
Moreover, they need costly equipment for performing daily routine activities, for instance
hoists and wheelchairs. People with inability to access wheelchair might not be able to
perform routine activities; hence, there might be feeling of low in comparison to the other
people. Learning disability is evident in poor families due to inability to provide proper
intervention
. Poor families would not be able to access all the medical services due to financial
constraints and lack of knowledge about medical services (Kennedy et al., 2017). Further, it
leads to poorer status of the family because care and management of the disabled individual
take approximately 18 % more expenditure (GBD and HALE, 2018). Due to the needs of
adults with one or more learning disabilities and who may also portray some challenging
behaviours, have limited opportunities in the community and this impacts on the family as
they often need someone to be with them at home or in the community (Stuckler et al., 2017;
Keenan et al., 2017). Challenging behaviour like hitting, scratching, biting etc. keep people
with learning disability isolated from the community. People with challenging behaviour
could pose a risk to themselves and others around them of posing might be harmful to
themselves and others; hence, family member need to support person to avoid harm. Adults
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with learning disability are always homebound; hence, other person of the family need to stay
at home to take care of the homebound disabled person. Henceforth, another person of the
family also cannot earn the money. Overall total income of the family badly affected due to
adult with learning disability. Family person accompanying person with challenging
behaviour would not be able to do job; hence, it can produce financial burden on the family
(Evandrou et al., 2016).
According to Health Survey of England, 2016; mainly four unhealthy lifestyle behaviours
like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet and lack of exercise and poor diet are
responsible for health inequalities (HSE, 2017) Smoking and alcohol lead to development of
different chronic diseases. It impacts health of the person; also, it impacts financial aspect
because person with disease need to spend more amount of money for the treatment and
management of the disease. Poor diet and lack of exercise lead to improper maintenance of
health. (Buck and Frosini, 2012).
The Life Course:
Life course is paradigm to study people’s lives, structural contexts and social change. Life
course perspective of the person varies based on the social, financial, epidemiological and
psychological aspects. Positive social context produces favourable impact on the life course
of the person. Sound financial condition can produce healthy life course. Person need to be
psychologically positive to shape life course to adapt the changing social scenarios (Burton-
Jeangros, 2015). Social issues in the childhood are responsible for the alteration in the
biological development. Social environment and social relationship are mainly responsible
for the physical and cognitive development. Children in the poor socioeconomic class might
encounter eating disorders, lack of immunization and sporting inability. It would lead to
improper physical and psychological development of the child (Kolb, 2014). Low
socioeconomic status might lead to disturbance in the biological development. It is essential
to consider the life events where biological alterations; which, lead to health inequalities.
Different stressful life events like daily hassles, work overload and financial difficulties
might lead to both physical and psychological disorders. Social worker needs to consider
complete history of the service users to understand serious illness of the service users. Social
determinants of health like occupational status, economic status, housing environment and
family circumstances affects health status of the person differently at different age of the
person (Runyan, 2018). Needs of the people are different at different life stage; hence,
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socioeconomic factors affect people differently in different age groups (Seabrook and vison,
2012; Andermann, 2016). In the most of the case, it is evident that adults are being neglected
from receiving proper healthcare services. People with learning disabilities with different age
groups need varied social intervention. Hence, effective intervention would not be provided
to both the age group people and it would result in the injustice to both. There should not be
injustice for the provision of healthcare services based on the age of the person. In the most
of the case, it is evident that adults are being neglected from receiving proper healthcare
services. It would be injustice to adults and would result in the health inequality (Corna,
2013).
Major transitions in life impacts social and health for the long-term duration even short-term
life expectancy. Major transitions in the life of an individual include starting, changing or
leaving school, setting new home, becoming a parent and retirement. During the major
transitions of the life individuals are more susceptible to accumulation of risk factors in the
adulthood usually occurs due to series of events occurred throughout the life of the person
(Lynch and Danely, 2013; Goodman et al., 2011). Hence, social worker needs to guide
people to avoid unhealthy lifestyle to avoid occurrence of diseases in the later part of the life.
Moreover, social worker needs to understand significant life events to provide optimum
intervention to the person with learning disabilities? person. Social worker needs to have
information about the life events. It would be helpful in planning intervention. Healthy life-
course of person can be effectively achieved by providing positive social environment and
the providing effective therapeutic intervention. Social worker needs to play significant role
in providing and assisting provision of social and therapeutic intervention at different stages
of life (Green, 2016).
Well-being:
Well-being is the positive condition of an individual or a group. Well-being of an individual
is elucidated in two forms like deficit model and holistic and positive model. Deficit model is
related to the meeting needs and intervene at the time of individual’s crisis. Holistic and
positive model is related to fulfilling potential of person (Jetten et al., 2012). Well-being and
social progress of an individual is directly proportional to economic growth and expansion in
the welfare state of an individual. Economic growth results in the improvements in the living
standards of an individual. Expansion in welfare state is directly proportional to provision of
education and healthcare services. Psycho social aspects like social participation and
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