Socioeconomic Status and Gender Differences Influence on Health Inequalities

Running Head: SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND GENDER DIFFERENCES INFLUENCE
ON HEALTH INEQUALITIES
Socioeconomic Status and Gender Differences Influence on Health Inequalities
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Socioeconomic Status and Gender Differences Influence on Health Inequalities 2
Health inequalities are the underserved and avoidable differences in the health of people
across their population and also, between precise population sets. Health inequalities are on a
social basis determined by situations that tend to be beyond a person’s control. The variation in
Socioeconomic status and gender difference play a critical role in influencing health inequalities.
Socioeconomic status is the economic and social welfare of a person or family in relation to
other people in society. It is normally based on their household income, levels of education and
their occupations (Gillam, Yates, & Badrinath, 2012).
Gender difference Influences on Health Inequalities
Women tend to have longer life expectancy but poorer health status than men. Certain
health issues are mostly prone to different sexes than the other. Women are more prone to
dementia, depression, and arthritis, while men suffer from lung cancer, cardiovascular disease,
and suicide. Women may take career breaks to raise and care for their children or family
members. Other women may work part-time to achieve their caring duties. As a result, they tend
to have lower socioeconomic status than men and hence they cannot afford better health care
services. A study was done at it showed that Bangladeshi women use more unlicensed medical
practices as compared to men who use licensed health practices. Statistics show that women have
a record of working in low-paying professions which have less benefits such as health insurances
and health screening. This leads to them having low self-esteem making them not able to afford
better healthcare services. Men, on the other hand, have high mortality rates which mostly are a
result of activities like excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking among other life-threatening
activities. Men seek the above activities as a means to cope with the stress they endure at their
workplaces. Increase in unemployment leads to low self-worth which tends to increase the
suicidal rates in young adult men (Annandale & Hunt, 2011).