Impacts of socio-economic factors on health of people

This study explores the impacts of socio-economic factors on the overall health of people, including education, family life, and health inequality.

Introduction and Social
Health Care
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
TITLE: Impacts of socio-economic factors on health of people.....................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Ways in which a person’s socio-economic class of their situations have an impact on their
health............................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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TITLE: Impacts of socio-economic factors on health of people.
INTRODUCTION
Social and health care terms refer all services that are being provided by health care professional
in order to improve health of people (Valentine and et.al., 2017). This present study is going to
show impacts of socio-economic class and social situation on overall health of people. It
discusses all levels of social class like upper class, middle class and lower class which impacts
overall health of society. It will also show all important factors which are associated with social
class and contribute to health inequality and health differences in people. All important factors
which contribute to health differences in different social class of people include: education,
family life, health inequality and others.
Aims and Objectives
Aim
“To identify impacts of socio-economic class on overall health of people”.
Objectives
To identify factors of social situation which affect people’s health.
To identify impacts of health inequality in increasing rate of cardiovascular and obesity.
MAIN BODY
Ways in which a person’s socio-economic class of their situations have an impact on their health
In the context of socio economic factors it can be said that it affects health of people to the great
extent. A social class of people have several impacts on physical health and their ability to get
effective medical or health care services. Social class refers grouping of people in a hierarchy on
the basis of education, income, social network, occupation and other factors which varies. Social
class is being divided into 3 classes such as: upper class, middle class and poor or working class.
Social determinants of health such as social condition and economic influences group differences
in health status also affect health (Abajo and et.al., 2017). People with low socio economic status
are more likely to experience health problem as it is a result of their economic position. One of
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the main reasons is inability of people with low social class to have access to health care services
as compare to people with higher status. It has also been identified that people with low social
economic status experience more health issues due to lack of finance, education and others
determinants. One of the other reason as why people with low SES are more likely to affected
and experience health issues is lack of finance and improved infrastructure. People in poorer
neighbours are tending to have fewer groceries, most fast food and healthy food chain than
wealthier neighbourhoods. It increases nutritional problem as they do not get proper nutrition and
this lead to several problems like heart disease, obesity, mal nutrition and others. People in
poorer neighbours have more crime rates as people have limited recreational facilities and they
tend to commit crimes because of getting money and it decreases the feasibility of routine
exercise.
In addition, it can also be said that people, with low SES class have lower levels of health
insurance than middle and upper social class. On the other hand, people with middle and higher
social class provide health insurance to their workers and it is the reason that people in these
classes are less likely to experience health issues. And it is not possible for people with lower
status occupation to provide all health insurance benefits to their employees. Without insurance,
the cost of healthcare become extremely high and this is the reason as people with low socio
economic status are more likely to experience with health issues as they do not have access to
preventative care or quality treatment (Sarti and Espinola, 2018). This class of people also has
higher rates of infant mortality rate due to mal nutrition, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Factors related to social situation which impact health of people
Health inequality is one of the other main factors which affect health of different social
class people. It refers unequal distribution of environmental hazards as well as access to health
care services. There are several regions in the UK, where people do not have proper access to
health care, fresh and pure water, sanitation and facility of routine medical visits. On the other
hand, some people live in areas where they have access to health care, water and all other
elements which can improve their health. So, it can be said that unequal distribution of health
care services among upper, middle and lower social class of people affect their health in a
negative manner (Taylor, 2017).
Rather than this, one of the other main factors which also affect health of people with different
social class is culture or views of people. Members of different social classes have different
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views on mental health as like different levels of access to mental health interventions. It is
found that people with lower class who are not educated and live in backward areas have several
negative views on mental health (Saeed and et.al., 2016). They believe that mental health is one
of the main disease and they do not treat in an effective manner with people with mental health.
Due to lack of education they do not have proper knowledge about mental health. When people
with mental health are treated in an ineffective manner then people loss hope of living and it
affects overall health of community and living standard. So, there is requirement of making
people aware about it as mental health is like of other health disease and people with mental
health require more attention and appropriate care. Along with views it is also found that people
of different social class also have different access to mental health as people who live in
backward areas have negative views on mental health also have less access to mental health. It
also creates problems in improving their health and living standard.
Family life is one of the other factor associated with social class and affect overall health
of people. Family life include: marriage, child bearing patterns, home stability and others. All
these factors of family life are majorly influenced by social class which impact health of people.
In this context it can be said that higher rate of divorce in low social economic status people have
financial stress on them. One of the main reasons behind it is expectations of people of different
social class. Divorce rate is higher in low social class people than middle and upper class. It can
also be said that income plays an important role in shaping family structure. Less developed
countries are over populated or struggling with overpopulation. But now governments of several
developed countries have developed policies related to child birth which makes them able to deal
with low birth rate (The Impacts of Social Class, 2016). Upper class individuals with high levels
of fertility tend to have more children than their lower class peers. A single parent also play an
important role in affecting health as they contribute to social instability and they have to face
higher cost. So, it can be said that family structure is one of the main factors of social class
which impact health of people with different social class.
Education factor is also associated with social class which impacts on their health.
People in high or upper social class are more likely to have greater education than in low social
class. It changes their perceptions, their views and behaviors towards mental health and other
factors. People with middle and upper social class are more likely to have the means to attend
more prestigious schools. After having higher education they are more likely to get prestigious
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jobs which give them higher salaries and with high income they can have proper and effective
access to health care services (Torre, and et.al., 2019). Upper class people are better able to send
their children to public state funded school and to higher education. It is the reason as developing
countries are still developing and developed countries are becoming wealthier and developed. It
also leads to inequality of health care and others basic needs.
So, from the above discussed all factors it can clearly be said that social class or social
situation plays an important role in impacting health of people. For reducing this gap between the
rich and poor we all need to focus on educating people. By educating all people this difference
can be reduced.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it can be concluded that social class like upper-class, middle class
and lower class play an important role in social health as they impact health of people in a
critical manner. It has shown several factors which are associated with social class which impact
health of people and leads to inequalities between different social classes of people. Some factors
which this study has discussed include: education, health inequality, cultural background and
views of people. People in upper social class are more likely to get all facilities and access to
health care, water, sanitation and other elements which can improve their health. On the other
hand, it has discussed that why people with low social class are less likely to get access to pure
water and health care services. It becomes the reason of health and wealth inequality between
low and upper social class of people and leads differences between developed and developing
countries.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Abajo, M. and et.al., 2017. Gender and socio‐economic inequalities in health and living
conditions among co‐resident informal caregivers: a nationwide survey in Spain. Journal of
advanced nursing. 73(3). pp.700-715.
Saeed, B.I.I. and et.al., 2016. Effect of socio-economic factors in utilization of different
healthcare services among older adult men and women in Ghana. BMC Health Services
Research. 16(1). p.390.
Sarti, S. and Espinola, S.R., 2018. Health inequalities in Argentina and Italy: A comparative
analysis of the relation between socio-economic and perceived health conditions. Research
in Social Stratification and Mobility. 55. pp.89-98.
Taylor, M.A., 2017. Review of the Social Determinants of Health-Income Inequality and
Education Inequality: Why Place Matters in US Teenage Pregnancy Rates. Health Syst
Policy Res. 4(2). p.52.
Torre, J.A.D.L. and et.al., 2019. Mental health, family roles and employment status inside and
outside the household in Spain. Gaceta sanitaria. 33. pp.235-241.
Valentine, L. and et.al., 2017. Design thinking for social innovation in health care. The Design
Journal. 20(6). pp.755-774.
Online
ONLINE
The Impacts of Social Class. 2016. Online Available through: <
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-impacts-of-social-
class/>
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