Impact of Socio-Economic Status on Health: UK Perspective

This essay explores the ways in which socio-economic class and social situation impact a person's health in the UK. It discusses health inequalities, the Black report, and the impact of socio-economic status on healthcare.

INTRODUCTION TO
HEALTH AND SOCIAL
CARE
Topic: Ways in which socio-economic class & social
situation impact a person’s health: In context to UK

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Socio-economic status and health................................................................................................3
Health Inequalities in social class and situation..........................................................................4
Impact of socio-economic status on healthcare...........................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Health & Social Care is associated to the services provided by social care practitioners in
UK and consists of the healthcare provision establishments. Socio-economic health of people is
assessed by income, education and occupation and they are also fundamental causes of health
disparities. SES has high influence on health by ability of a person to purchase resources for
promotion of health and treatments and health in turn influences SES as less healthy individuals
tend to earn lower incomes and have occupational problems due to lack of education. This essay
will describe the effects of socio-economic status on health of people in context to UK. The
essay will explain socio-economic status in context to health, health inequalities in social class
and situation in relation to UK and description of the black report, along with impact of socio-
economic status on healthcare. The key terms used in the essay are SES: socio-economic status.
MAIN BODY
Socio-economic status and health
Socio-economic status (SES) and situation refers to the measurement of a person's
combined social and economic status which is directly associated with better health. The main
components are education, occupation and income Each component leads to various health
outcomes. Education: It is the most basic component of SES and sets base for future
opportunities and potential for earning. It also leads to skills and competencies that let educated
people to gain quick access to resources and information for promotion of health. Education
directly related to risk factors for various diseases and is a key to health inequality. Education
determines lifestyle choices, behaviour and daily routine. It enhances feelings of personal care
and control and a reduction in hazardous exposures. Occupation and income: Occupations
defines the exposure to environment where a person works and associated health risks.
Occupations categorized as blue and black-collared jobs which are either industrial in nature,
exposed to environmental hazards, dangerous machinery, direct exposure to toxic chemicals,
weather etc. are likely to result in high mortality rates. Income provides better nutrition,
schooling, housing and recreation. A low-level income cam result in deprivation of health-related
services and benefits and adversely impact health, increase mortality rate and lead to absolute
deprivation (Williams, Priest and Anderson, 2016).
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Low socio-economic status when evaluated via education, income or occupation can be
linked with increased rate of health disorders like hypertension, stroke and CHD in both men and
women, which can be accounted for an unhealthy lifestyle. Low socio-economic status results in
atherogenic diet, more smoking, less physical exercise. Low SES is also linked to greater
exposure to stressors of environment, depletion of resources like financial or tangible reserves,
lack of home ownership, employment etc. There are associations between poverty, low
resources, behavioural adaptations and psychological adaptations that tend to increase health
related risks (Hoffmann, Kröger and Pakpahan, 2018).
Health Inequalities in social class and situation
The presence of Socio-economic based inequalities in relation to health in the population
of UK is historically evident. For more than 150 years, presence of inequality in outcomes of
health has been a major concern after the reports by Medical Officer of Health. As socio-
economic disadvantages widened, health outcomes started getting worse. There was a persistent
disruption in the health analysed from the perspective of social classes. When discussing about
social class, a study observed that men from lower social class were 2.5 times more likely to die
than the men from upper social classes. The children in lower social classes were twice as likely
to die as children from upper social class. Therefore, it is determined that social class has a direct
impact on the death rate 1990 (Newton and et.al., 2015). Social class inequalities persist for
several major diseases and issues for every age and gender in UK. An analysis from Global
Burden of Disease described that men who were residing in the highly deprived and
underdeveloped areas of England during 2013, had experienced life expectancy of around 8
years less than that of people residing in less deprived regions. Life expectancy for females that
resided in backward areas was 7 years less than the females from less backward regions, which
was an improvement from the previous difference of 7.2 years in 1990 (Newton and et.al., 2015).
A complex relation exists between health outcomes and social class. A research published in the
European journal of public health showed that a notable mortality element among employees
exists for most causes, such as a relatively low risk of death in higher managerial, professional
and white-collar occupations than unskilled working class (Stuckler and et.al., 2017).
The Black report
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The black report which was published in 1980 affirmed that inequalities in health based
on social class were broadening. The report explained four mechanisms to describe the health
inequalities: Artefact, Social selection, Behaviour and Material circumstances (Pogue, 2017).
Artefact: The relationship between social class and health emphasized on the artificial nature
correlated variables and it was observed that their relationship is an artefact of little casual
importance. Hence it was assumed that for twentieth century, patterns of unequal health had been
an outcome of dynamic trends in the vocational structure. Social selection: It infers that poor
health and physiological timidness resulted in diminished social rewards and worthiness. The
relation is reflective and there is no causal role in high mortality rates. Healthy people tend to get
more opportunities or get promoted than unhealthy people who are more likely to lose their jobs.
Materialistic: This description resulted in inference that association of health and class signifies
the role of social, structural and economical factors in well-being and health of people. It
describes that poverty is the prime cause of poor health. People who are disadvantaged are tend
to live in areas with poor infrastructure or exposure to health hazards and pollution. Behaviour:
Health damaging behaviours could be observed in lower social classes like poor choices and
lifestyle of food and diet, more smoking, higher consumption of alcohol, low immunity etc. It is
identified that individuals who belong to the lower social classes indulged in relatively more
health damaging behaviours (Smith, Bambra and Hill, 2016).
Impact of socio-economic status on healthcare
According to a qualitative study, patients with low socio-economic status have resulted in
healthcare delivery and the clinical decision-making. The evidence suggests that SES impacts
upon a person’s health results and quality of health care received by them. Individuals from
lower SES have lower probability of self-reporting health related issues, pertain a low longevity
of life and tend to dwell in severe chronic health conditions when compared to the people who
belong to higher SES (Arpey, Rosenbaum and Gaglioti, 2017). Impact on treatment: In the
study, most people with lower SES reported that they have slight effects on the treatment got by
them. SES affects the type, quantity and schedule of diagnostic tests conducted by the general
practitioners and physicians. Due to the high costs and lack of information and diagnostic
information less services were available for people. SES extended the time of tests to get
approved. Many people experienced that SES impacted the kind of medicines that were being
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prescribed by the doctors. Generic alternatives seemed much less impactful than branded
medications. Impact on Access to healthcare: Due to social economic status people face
barriers in access to healthcare in terms of cost, time and distance. In certain circumstances
people preferred avoiding hospitalisation due to cost which in turn led to their medical conditions
becoming worse and potentially expensive visits to hospitals later on. Patients had to wait for
several months for appointments with a primary healthcare provider. They faced issues with
reliable transportation, or emergency treatments. Impact on patient-provider interaction:
Some people inferred that doctors although had knowledge regarding their SES, showed no
effect on the behaviour in treatment or being viewed. In fact, physicians supported them with
information and understood their economic constraints. On the other hand, many people
pertaining to lower socio-economic class perceived that the treatment they received because of
their SES was quite indifferent. Most individuals stated that they face circumstances where they
were not being heard and their questions were being neglected when it came to patient-provider
information. The people were subjected to negative words and phrases because of their SES.
This resulted in resistance to achieving healthcare (McMaughan, Oloruntoba and Smith, 2020).
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that a lower socio-economic status can be
directly related to poor and deteriorating health as well as disparities in attaining healthcare.
Socio-economic health of people is assessed by income, education and occupation and they are
also fundamental causes of health disparities. The primary determinants of health are health
behaviour, environmental exposure and healthcare. Additionally, chronic stress in relation to low
SES tends to increase mortality and morbidity. According to various studies, social class has
been a major reason for inequality in achieving healthcare and direct impact upon health in the
UK. Socio-economic disadvantages have led to a persistent disruption in the health. The black
report described the widening social inequalities in health in UK using four mechanism namely
artefact, social selection, behaviour and material circumstances. Patients with low socio-
economic status are facing negative healthcare delivery and problems with clinical decision-
making, in context of access to healthcare, affect on treatment an patient-provider information.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arpey, N.C., Gaglioti, A.H. and Rosenbaum, M.E., 2017. How socioeconomic status affects
patient perceptions of health care: a qualitative study. Journal of Primary Care &
Community Health, 8(3), pp.169-175.
Hoffmann, R., Kröger, H. and Pakpahan, E., 2018. Pathways between socioeconomic status and
health: Does health selection or social causation dominate in Europe? Advances in life
course research, 36, pp.23-36.
McMaughan, D.J., Oloruntoba, O. and Smith, M.L., 2020. Socioeconomic Status and Access to
Healthcare: Interrelated Drivers for Healthy Aging. Frontiers in Public Health, 8.
Newton, J.N., and et.al., 2015. Changes in health in England, with analysis by English regions
and areas of deprivation, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of
Disease Study 2013. The Lancet, 386(10010), pp.2257-2274.
Pogue, C., 2017. The Black Report.
Smith, K., Bambra, C. and Hill, S., 2016. Background and introduction: UK experiences of
health inequalities. Health inequalities, critical perspectives, pp.1-21.
Stuckler, D., and et.al., 2017. Austerity and health: the impact in the UK and Europe. European
journal of public health, 27(suppl_4), pp.18-21.
Williams, D.R., Priest, N. and Anderson, N.B., 2016. Understanding associations among race,
socioeconomic status, and health: Patterns and prospects. Health Psychology, 35(4),
p.407.
Online
Socioeconomic Disparities in Health: Pathways and Policies, Nancy E Adler and Katherine
Newman, 2002, Available through:
<https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.21.2.60>
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