You are required to write a journal article that demonstrates your understanding of poverty and health.
Within the article you must include the following:
• Describe two sociological approaches to poverty and health.
• Explain how Social Scientists’ research and government initiatives have provided a greater insight into the link between poverty and health.
• Explain how political perspectives used in medical sociology are linked to patterns of health by providing an example of one factor that can impact health chances.
For guidance about layout, structure and style of writing used for a journal article you should refer to the study materials for the ‘Academic Writing Skills’ unit.
You are encouraged to use images within your article to support your written commentary.
Relevant theory must be referenced where appropriate and a references list provided. Remember that any images that you have used which have been taken from published sources must be referenced accordingly.
The article should be a maximum of 2,000 words in length.
This word limit is the absolute maximum you are permitted. If you are over the word limit for this assignment in any way you will receive your assignment back without further comment or feedback.
The link between poverty and health has remained a matter of great concern in the United Kingdom over the years. It is a two-way relationship where the less fortunate in society are more stressed, socially isolated, and more likely to have more inferior physical and mental health statuses. Proportionate universalism should be integrated into the social welfare policies to disrupt the cycle of poverty-health. The research was done to compare and contrast the link between poverty and health in various UK countries. The data was collected from different online sources from researches that had been done, analysed and published.
Being in good health is a highly underrated factor. So much is at stake for a person, his family, and the nation at large when they are not in good health. Day-to-day activities cannot be carried out as usual when people are not healthy, which greatly impacts the economy. Poverty, on the other hand can be described as the state of lacking access to material property and wealth or the lack of a chance to change one’s life for the better. However, sociologists argue that poverty is more than just lacking access to material things. Lacking important information is an even worse form of poverty. Poverty and health are highly linked. The poorest and most vulnerable communities in the larger UK are most affected by infectious diseases and neglected tropical diseases like malaria, HIV, TB, and pneumonia mainly because they lack information, funds, and healthcare facilities. On the other hand, in worst-case scenarios, families are likely to sell family properties to raise the fees expected to have one of them healed. In the case of diseases like cancer, it is known to exploit the family’s financial status of a patient, leaving them poverty-stricken, sometimes without saving the patient’s life.
The research used ross-sectional data from the internet. This included books and journals already analysed by other researchers. For accurate and helpful results, the research ensured that the internet articles used were not more than five years from today. The selected material were articles relating to the link between health and poverty. For example, according to Alkin et al., (2018), poverty raises the possibility of poor health in society, whereas poor health, in turn, is seen to trap families and communities in poverty.
One of the sociological approaches to poverty and health is the structural-functionalist approach. The structural view implies that the poor are poor by choice. It looks at society as a complex form that requires all its parts to harmonize to promote stability. The theory observes that all aspects of culture, including poverty and health, play a role and must work together to promote the smooth functioning of the entire system. The structural approach maintains that society requires effective medical care and general good health to run smoothly. It portrays the relationship between the healthcare provider and the patient as hierarchical, where the healthcare providers give instructions that the patient should abide by for his well-being. The hierarchical form extends to poverty whereby those considered worthy are at the top of the ladder, with the less worthy at the bottom of the ladder. According to this theory, the rich and powerful benefit at the expense of the poor.
Fundamental societal roles are threatened by ill-health as people are incapable of performing their tasks best when ill. Society lacks stability in cases where a significant fraction of individuals is unhealthy. Generally, poor health is dysfunctional to society because it is easier for healthy people to fall sick than for ill people to heal (Marmot, 2017). According to Parsons, sick people are considered legitimately ill after confirmation from a certified healthcare provider. The ill person himself must want to be well and follow the instructions given to him by the physician. Otherwise, if they are perceived to be faking their illnesses, not wanting to get well, or acting like they are getting better, they are not considered legitimately ill.
The other sociological approach to poverty and health is the conflict theory. The conflict theory tends to focus on the constant state of competition in society over scarce resources. In this approach, Karl Marx observes that stratification in society is dysfunctional and harmful but is entertained because it benefits those on the top of the hierarchy. From the healthcare perspective, the conflict approach maintains that inequality is observed in the delivery of healthcare services. The inequities experienced in the health field are based on race, social class, ethnicity, and gender mainly. People from minority disadvantaged populations are highly expected to contract illnesses and least likely defeat the sickness due to limited access to quality healthcare.
According to the conflict theorists, the state of inequality and competition is created by the people, and they are the same people that maintain that status. However, this state is not in the hands of the people to do away with it because it is inevitable. The stratification is primarily due to the discrimination and lack of equal opportunity presented to the people at the bottom of the ladder. Those at the top of the ladder can manipulate the law, the media, and other institutions that impact society’s structure. The rich and powerful take this to their advantage, not caring who they hurt in the process. On the other hand, the less fortunate are faced with several hindrances on their way to the top of the socioeconomic ladder.
Whereas poverty is considered a major contributor to ill health and a hindrance to healthcare facilities, poor health can also be a cause of poverty. The relationship between health and poverty does not only end at finances. Although money is required to purchase the things needed to maintain good health, lack of information is also a major contributor to ill health. Social scientists view poverty as more than just a lack of resources. According to them, poverty could also mean being deprived of information or other basic needs like clean water and proper sanitization. From this perspective, the poor or the less fortunate in society are more likely to miss important information about health-promoting practices (Marsh et al., 2020). As the phrase goes, good health is not cheap, which is why ill health can become a cause of poverty. Seeking basic healthcare can be costly, ranging from directly related to seeking medication like consultation fees, running tests, and buying medicines to other indirect costs like transportation costs. Far from that, families are sometimes forced to borrow or sell family properties to meet medical expenses.
Governments have focused on establishing strong health systems to improve the health status of the entire population. The medical sector and other government initiatives emphasize delivering quality, affordable, and easily accessible healthcare services. The World Bank shows its involvement in providing equality in healthcare and offering financial protection in the 2007 Health, Nutrition, and population strategy, whose primary objective was reducing the rates of poverty caused by illnesses. The bank provides a helping hand to the government in implementing policies and programs that aim to offer financial protection and reduce inequalities in health outcomes.
The socioeconomic state of a country predicts the rate of disease and mortality rate. For this matter, people from the poorest parts of England are more likely to suffer cases of poor health due to their socioeconomic status (Thompson et al., 2017).Critical drivers to ill health in England include poor lifestyle choices, psychological stress, and absolute living standards. On top of that, the investment done in health in the poorest parts of England is not comparable to that in the rich sections because of the difference in policies and financial capabilities. However, governments can manage their health system by changing poverty rates by creating employment, income distribution, and service commissioning.
Over the years, health has risen to the top in the international agenda. Achieving the best attainable standards of health has become a top objective for most nations worldwide. Quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to everybody without discrimination has become a fundamental right for everyone across the globe. Far from the economic structures of a society, political systems are also responsible for social inequalities and conflicts. The impact of politics and other health policies on health is a highly ignored area of research. The black report of 1980 observed that the trends of ill-health and death were unequally distributed across Britain. The poor parts of Britain registered more deaths and cases of ill health as compared to the advantaged parts of Britain. Further, the black report insinuates that the inequalities gap kept widening over time, especially after establishing the NHS (Rich etal.,2019).
The marmot report of 2010 shines a light on the fact that most people in England spend most of their lives sick. People that are not on the top of the ladder are more likely to suffer sudden illnesses and premature deaths. Research has it that people from the disadvantaged parts of England die seven years earlier than rich neighborhoods. Most of these health inequalities result from the social and economic status someone holds, which determines their income, education, disability, housing, and social isolation. However, health inequalities can be avoided.
In order to manage the poverty and health inequalities, the government requires stronger healthcare and welfare systems. Healthcare access varies across the societal hierarchy, with the less fortunate being associated with lower access to preventive care and medical aid in general. Poor health results in fewer working opportunities reduced productivity and a financial care burden. Welfare initiatives and policies are set in place in the poorest regions to cater to low-income families. Some of these policies, like progressive taxation, are used to tackle poverty and give the less fortunate in society a chance to fight for good health. These policies should focus on promoting self-sustenance through encouraging employment. Helping patients and putting them in normal day-to-day life situations is likely to improve their health status and view of good health.
From another perspective, it is the poor people who can put their health on the line to put something on the table for their families. Less fortunate people are most likely expected to work in harsh conditions regardless of the expected consequences on their health. They are the same people who are subject to poor living conditions, Living in crowded places. Airborne diseases like tuberculosis and other respiratory disorders are likely to take advantage of this. Lack of clean water and poor sanitation conditions are also expected to invite diseases like cholera. In the earlier years, William Far assumed that the poor health of the poor was a result of their uncivilized ways (Mallaband & Lipson, 2020). During his era, he did not pay much attention to the hygiene of the people of England because he thought cholera was airborne. The poor had to work to eat regardless of the circumstances. They face all these risk factors, and they are still not able to afford medical care. It was not until later that statistics revealed that most deaths were a result of unfavorable environmental working conditions and dirty water. Edwin Chadwick realizing the link between unhygienic environments and ill health pushed further for the Public Health Act, which was only adopted in 1875. John Snow first confirmed that cholera was spread through water and not air after it had claimed over 10,000 lives. This put more emphasis on the importance of hygiene and clean water.
Being in good health is way more than being disease-free. It takes being physically, mentally, and emotionally okay, which requires a healthy environment. On that note, poverty is also considered as something more than just lacking enough finances. However, poverty is a significant contributor to ill health and highly impacts life expectancy. Low-income people are less likely to get easy access to medical care due to matters like lacking health insurance coverages, thus being unable to cover medical bills. Even after NHS was implemented, a bigger part of the over 27 million uninsured British people are low-income people. Lacking health insurance plans for low-income people was tragic because they are highly likely to evade seeking medical care because of worries about medical expenses. The guidelines should be designed to motivate the patients and their caregivers for self-sustenance and getting back to everyday social life in society. Finally, the medical-social collaboration should implement the proposed recommendations by incorporating healthcare, labor policies, and welfare.
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