Knes 400: Mini Reflection on Poverty's Impact on Society

This essay delves into the multifaceted impact of poverty on societal structures, specifically examining the interplay between socioeconomic conditions, health outcomes, and social disparities. Through the lens of a mini-reflection, the essay explores the 'above water' and 'underwater' factors contributing to poverty, such as access to playgrounds and the prevalence of obesity. The analysis highlights how socioeconomic status influences access to healthcare and overall health, using the example of Mr. James to illustrate the advantages of higher socioeconomic conditions. The essay references studies by the World Health Organization (2020) and Castañeda et al. (2015) to support its claims, emphasizing the correlation between poverty, limited resources, and adverse health outcomes. The core argument centers on the idea that both the 'above water' and 'underwater' factors associated with poverty significantly contribute to social disparities within a society, impacting health and well-being.

Running head: MINI-REFLECTION
Mini-Documentary Reflection
Class- Knes 400
Name- Kazine Kelly
Author Note

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In this essay, the poverty level of the society will be discussed by enlightening the
character of Mr. James who belongs to rich section of the society. In this context, it can be
stated that the poverty level of the society is one of the major contributing factors regarding
the social disparities. Therefore, it is also very important to identify the underwater factor and
above water factor for this specific condition of the society. The issue of social embodiment
refers to the tangible changes due to the presence of various societal condition such as
poverty.
From the specific film, it can be reported that in case of the poverty level, the
underwater factor is enhancement of obesity among the poor people of the society and on the
other hand the above water factor is not having enough accessibility to the playgrounds.
Therefore, it is very important to analyse the effect of under water and above water factors on
the society.
From the example of Mr. James, it can be stated that above water factor that is the
accessibility of the proper amount of playgrounds is associated with the better health
condition of the society and as a result, Mr. James is able to perform all type of works in his
life and he is fit enough do so. The higher socioeconomic condition of the individual also
allows them to access all type of services present in the society. Due to the good economic
condition, the health condition of the rich people of the society is quite good and thus the
average life expectancy of the people is almost 80 years. In case of lower economic
conditioned people, the mortality is rate is very high due to poor accessibility of the health
care services in the society. According to the study of World Health Organization (2020), it
is stated that the lower socioeconomic condition` of the society is associated with the idea of
poor accessibility of health care services in the society. Furthermore, the poor health
condition of the people due to lower economic condition is also associated with the
underwater factor. In case of poverty the underwater factor is poor accessibility of the

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playgrounds and as a result they are facing the problem of obesity in their life. In this context,
it can be mentioned that due to lower economic condition, the people are unable to access the
playgrounds and thus the cases of lack accessibility of the playgrounds is associated with the
obese condition of the poor people. This poor socioeconomic condition of the people has
contributed to the social disparity among the people of the society in terms of education,
health conditions of the people. According to the study of Castañeda et al. (2015), it is stated
that the poor economic condition and social disparities is associated with the health
embodiment among the people in the society. Hence, it can be stated that the above water and
underwater factor of the poverty level of the society have serious impact on the social
disparities of the two sections of the society.

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References
Castañeda, H., Holmes, S. M., Madrigal, D. S., Young, M. E. D., Beyeler, N., & Quesada, J.
(2015). Immigration as a social determinant of health. Annual review of public health, 36,
375-392.
World Health Organization (2020). The Determinants of Health. World Health Organization.
Retrieved from- https://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/ [Accessed on 27th Feb 2020]

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