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Health and Social Care Level 3 - Unit 19 - P5, M3, D2
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P5: Explain potential links between social inequalities and the health of the populationM3: Assess the impact of social inequalities on the health of one group in society
D2: Evaluate the potential links between social inequalities and the health and well-being of one group in society
In this assignment, I will explain six different social inequalities and link them to the health of the population. I
will then assess and evaluate the impacts of social inequalities on people of different social classes.
(P5) The first social inequality which affects the health of the population is income and wealth distribution. By
comparing the different levels of income and wealth in different social groups, we are able to measure the
inequalities in society. The term income can be hard to define; however, it has been explained as the flow of
money which comes from either work, pensions, benefits or savings. Wealth has been defined as the property,
shares and other personal possessions which an individual owns, and can be sold to generate more income. It
can be hard to measure the income and wealth distribution in society, but data collected from government
sources shows us that income and wealth are not fairly distributed among different social classes. For example,
based on estimates from the Living Costs and Food Survey “income inequality increased slightly in financial year
ending 2018 from 31.4% to 32.5%” (Office for National Statistics, 2018). This shows us that the rich are
becoming richer, and the poor are becoming poorer. There is also a link between income and wealth distribution
and health. INDEPENDENT (2014) proclaimed that “just six per cent of people with an income of £50,000 or
more had a debilitating illness, compared to 30 per cent of those who had an income of up to £10,000”.
(M3/D2) Income and wealth distribution has many impacts on the health of people of different social classes.
Firstly, people of lower social classes usually have lower income. Therefore, this will mean that their health will
also be worse if we look at the evidence presented by INDEPENDENT (2014). This shows us that people of lower
social classes are more likely to have a debilitating illness. However, social class is hard to define because there
are many different definitions of it. For example, according to NS-SEC (2001) there are 8 social classes; the
lowest being the people who never worked or have been unemployed for a long time, and the highest being the
people who have higher managerial and professional occupations such as doctors or lawyers. Furthermore, the
Registrar General identified only five social classes; the lowest being unskilled occupations, and the highest
being the professional class. This shows us the different ideas of how many social classes there are and what
they consist of. These sources may not be relevant anymore as they are outdated. A more relevant source would
be The Guardian (2017) who stated that “rates of death from cancer, heart attacks and strokes are rising among
residents of the poorest places compared with those in wealthy areas”. This source is more up to date but it can
still be seen as unreliable because it is an article which means that the information may have been exaggerated
in order to attract the attention of potential readers. In conclusion, we can see that income and wealth
distribution does affect the health of different social classes. This is because lower social classes have a lower
income which means they cannot access private health care and have to use the NHS, which can have long
waiting lists. The same article also claimed that “poorer people’s access to GP services is also getting worse, as is
their experience of care received at GP surgeries”.
(P5) Another social inequality which affects the health of the population is unemployment. Long-term
unemployment can have serious effects on individuals, they may suffer consequences of prejudice,
discrimination, marginalisation, or social exclusion. As well as the ongoing effects of living in poverty for a long
period of time. The government has tried to overcome the issue of poverty through taxes, but most individuals
in society do not want to pay taxes. Many also believe that people should not receive more money from the
state than they could earn from paid employment, as this encourages laziness. However, statistics show that
Unit 19 1
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