LEARNING AIM C- EXAMINE HOW SOCIAL INEQUALITIES, DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE, AND
PATTERNS AND TRENDS AFFECT HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE DELIVERY
P5: Explain how social inequality affects different groups in society.
M3 Analyse the impact of social inequality on different groups in society.
:
In this assignment I will be examining how social inequalities, demographic change and patterns and
trends affect health and social care delivery. I will be explaining inequalities affect different groups in
society. I will also be analysing the impact of society inequality on different groups in society. Social
inequality is defined as the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social
positions or statuses within a group or society. Social inequality refers to the unequal distribution of:
resources such as power, wealth and income, opportunities (related, for instance, to health,
education and employment). Social class, gender, ethnicity and age are all reasons of inequality in
modern British society. (Bishopstopfords.enfield.sch.uk, 2020) Intersectionality is defined as the
complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism,
sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersects particularly in the experiences of marginalised
individuals or groups. (Merriam-webster.com, 2020) To measure health and to check health status
can be done using pathological and clinical measures and is usually observed by clinicians or
measured using instruments. Types of disease measurement comprise: blood pressure,
temperature, X-ray, tumour size. In order to recognise health inequalities and the main areas of
health inequalities are rates of disease, health outcomes and access to care. Measuring health
includes morbidity rates, mortality rates, health events, disease incidence and disease prevalence.
Mortality rates refer to what people die from, the reasons for death. Morbidity rates are the
number of people who have a particular disease during a particular time period. These trends will be
compared over periods of time, such as whether it has increased or decreased. They may also be
compared over different areas, social class or gender. Disease incidence is the number of new cases
occurring in a given period of time. Disease prevalence is the number of cases of a certain disease at
any one time. Epidemiological data defines the studies the patterns, causes, and effects of health
and disease conditions in defined populations.
P5: Explain how social inequality affects different groups in society.
SOCIAL CLASS:
Health inequalities are differences in health status that are driven by inequalities in society. Health is
shaped by many different factors, such as lifestyle, material wealth, educational attainment, job
security, housing conditions, psycho-social stress, discrimination and the health services. Health
inequalities represent the cumulative effect of these factors over the life-course; they can be passed
on from one generation to the next through maternal influences on baby and child development.
Inequalities take place within society. Health and care workers need to understand the inequalities
that affect the health and wellbeing of their service users. By knowing which groups of service users
are most vulnerable to poor health and social disadvantage, and the reasons why this is the case,
health and care professionals can use their resources in the best way to meet all service users’
needs. There is evidence that patterns of health and illness vary with social class. Different
sociologists define the term ‘social class’ in slightly different ways. However, a basic definition of
,social class is a division of a society based on social and economic status. Despite the difficulties of
definition, and different views on continuing importance of class in our society, there is
overwhelming evidence that there is variation in health and wellbeing by social group, and,
especially, by social class, in: the incidence of ill health or morbidity and life expectancy. Although
statistics must be treated with caution, there is evidence that members of the higher social classes
are living longer and enjoying better health than members of the higher social classes are living
longer and enjoying better health than members of the lower social groups and, if people from any
of these groups are also poor, the differences are even greater. The most influential studies that
consider the reasons for this difference are the Black Report (1980) and the Acheson Report (1998).
These reports provide detailed and comprehensive explanations of the relationships between social
and environmental factors and health, illness and life expectancy. (Pearsonactivelearn.com, 2020)
The Black Report showed in great detail the extent of which ill-health and death are unequally
distributed among the population of Britain, and suggested that these inequalities have been
widening rather than diminishing since the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948. The
Report concluded that these inequalities were not mainly attributable to failings in the NHS, but
rather to many other social inequalities influencing health: income, education, housing, diet,
employment, and conditions of work. In consequence, the Report recommended a wide strategy of
social policy measures to combat inequalities in health. These findings and recommendations were
virtually disowned by the then Secretary of State for Social Services, very few copies of the Report
were printed, and few people had the opportunity to read it. The Black Report is an important
document that deserves wide attention and debate. This summary and comment is intended to give
greater access to its evidence, arguments, conclusions, and recommendations. (NCBI, 2020) This
study has been extremely influential and the explanations offered in it are still used by sociologists
today when examining and considering these issues. The independent inquiry into inequalities in
health report (Acheson report) was published in 1998. The purpose of the inquiry was to inform the
development of the government's public health strategy and, in particular, to contribute to the
forthcoming white paper, ‘Our healthier nation’. The Acheson report provides an opportunity to use
its influence and expertise to ensure that government policies, research, and child health services
are directed to reducing the extra burden of ill health and death imposed on children as a result of
family poverty. (Navigator.health.org.uk, 2020)
The Black Report considered four types of explanations that might account for the differences in the
levels of illness and life expectancy experienced by different social classes. The researchers were
persuaded that the differences in health and wellbeing were an effect of the level of people’s
income, the quality of their housing and the environment in which they lived and worked. The
statistical artefact explanation is defined as a measurement phenomenon which arises either
through the (inadequate) measurement of social class and/or health, or in the measurement of the
relationship between the two. Researchers working on the Black Report suggested that the
differences could be explained by the fact that the statistics themselves produced a biased picture.
They argued that the lowest social classes had a higher proportion of older people and people
working in traditional and more dangerous industries. So, it would be expected that they would have
higher levels of illness than more prosperous, younger people working in offices, call centres and
other service industries. This explanation suggests that it is not really social class, but the age
structure and patterns of employment of people in the lowest social classes that explain the
differences. However, more recent studies have shown that, even when the researchers account for
, this bias in employment and age, they still find a link between low social classes, high levels of illness
and lower life expectancy. Natural or social selection is defined as the idea that an individual's
health can influence their social mobility and, hence, their position in the social hierarchy, has been
suggested as an important element in the process which produces social class differences in health.
This explanation suggests that it is not low social class and the associated low wages, poverty and
poorer housing that cause illness, higher infant mortality rates and lower expectancy for adults;
instead, it is, in fact, the other way round. People are in the lower classes because of their poor
health, absenteeism and lack of energy needed for success and promotion. This explanation has
been rejected by sociologists because there is evidence to show that ill health is caused by deprived
circumstances rather than causing them. (Pearsonactivelearn.com, 2020)
Cultural or behavioural explanation focuses on the behaviour and lifestyle of people in the lower
social classes. There was evidence that people in the lower social classes smoked more, drank more
heavily, were more likely to eat junk food and take insufficient exercise. This was regarded as
'cultural' because of the common understanding that they are, or should be, within the control of
individuals. Their poor lifestyle choices were linked to a range of chronic illnesses including heart
disease, some forms of cancer, bronchitis and diabetes. However, the fact that many people in
economically deprived circumstances use smoking and alcohol to help them cope with their difficult
circumstances. It is their difficult circumstances that lead to their lifestyle choices, not the other way
round. Material or structural explanations claims that those social groups for whom life expectancy
is shorter, and for whom infant mortality rates are higher, suffer poorer health than other groups
because of inequalities in wealth and income. Poverty and persistently low incomes are associated
with poorer diet, poor housing in poor environments and more dangerous and insecure
employment. It is these inequalities and the associated deprivation that lead to the differences in
health and wellbeing. The writers of the Black Report presented very persuasive evidence to support
the materialist explanation. Research has been conducted in this area and concluded that the major
factors contributing to these differences in health and illness were social factors. Therefore, poor
health and lower life expectancy is a consequence of poverty in a community.
(Pearsonactivelearn.com, 2020)
SEX:
Sex refers to the biological characteristics that define humans as female or male. While these sets of
biological characteristics are not mutually exclusive, as there are individuals who possess both, they
tend to differentiate humans as males and females. (World Health Organization, 2020) Although
women’s life expectancy is higher than of women (with women in our society typically living five
years longer than men, and with the infant mortality rates for boys being persistently higher than
those for girls),studies consistently report higher levels of illness for women than for me. The social
factors that contribute to these differences can be identified as differences in lifestyle, economic
inequalities and the perceived role of women in society. Although women’s life expectancy is higher
than men, studies often report levels of illness higher for women than for men. However, it may also
be the case that women have a higher rate of diagnosed stress- related illness due to their
willingness to discuss mental health issues with their doctor, rather than actually having a higher
rate of stress-related illnesses. Lifestyle factors are one of the social factors that can have an impact
on women’s health. The impact of this is that the higher death rate for men can be linked with
higher levels of cigarette smoking and drinking by men, and their participation in more risky and
