Aaa Sss Health Inequalities in Uk

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HEALTH INEQUALITIES IN ENGLAND
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Health Inequalities in England
Introduction
Inequality is a word that has been used to show or mean an imbalance in the distribution
of resources and rights in life. The phenomenon of unequalness in the society we live in shows
the unfair situation in which some people get more and better opportunities than others. These
differences in the opportunities and care that people receive in their way to live healthy lives are
the reason for health inequalities. Health inequalities are avoidable as the government may help
in improving the health status of all groups of communities in the country. This for example may
include improving access to care by increasing the availability of treatments and satisfaction of
patients to the care services offered in public hospitals. Public servants have the biggest role in
identifying and addressing the health inequalities evident in their day-to-day life in duty. By
raising awareness on these, better health outcomes will be seen in society. For instance,
addressing the consequences of drug abuse or preventive measures against a prevailing disease
would help reduce health problems in society. In England, health inequalities are often analyzed
and addressed by policy and therefore it is useful to be clear on which measure is unequally
distributed, and between which people. Also, the combination of these factors differently may
cause inequalities. For instance, combination of social and economical factors like employment
in the rural areas might lead to an issue of congestion in other areas for the same purpose of low
living costs causing an increase in health issues like air pollution.
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Causes of health inequalities
Life expectancy
Inequality in life expectancy is one of the major reasons for health inequalities and it is
related to the peoples' social-economic circumstances which majorly is deprivation of people
within a certain area based on factors like income, employment, and also the level of education.
Due to the systematic relationship between deprivation and life expectancy, social gradient
comes in. In this, statistics show that males living in the least deprived areas can, at birth, expect
to live 9.4 years longer than males in the most deprived areas. For females, this gap is 7.4 years.
There are also geographical inequalities in life expectancy. This is evident in the way that the
north of England has a higher concentration of deprived neighborhoods than the south of
England making it have a greater proportion of communities where life expectancy is likely to be
lower compared to the south.
There are two important measures of the amount of time that people spend in good
health; healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy. The difference between the
two is that the former estimate time spent in good health, based on how people perceive their
general health while the latter estimates, based on self-reported assessment, time spent without
conditions or illnesses that limit people’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities.
Inequalities in both healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy are even
wider as people in more deprived areas spend, on average, have a far greater part of their already
shorter lives in poor health.
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Avoidable mortalities
Some deaths can be avoided with the use of preventive measures or prompt medical
attention. Inequalities in avoidable death rates between demographic groups reflect differences in
how people receive aid to address life-threatening health risks and conditions. Deaths that could
have been avoided or delayed if prompt, effective health care or broader public health initiatives
had been implemented have been addressed repeatedly in health office statistics. Men in the most
deprived parts of England were 4.5 times more likely than males in the least needy areas to die
from an avoidable cause in 2017. Females in the most deprived areas were 3.9 times more likely
than those in the least deprived areas to die from an avoidable cause.
Preventable mortality is higher in darker places. Blackpool had the highest rate of 318.0
per 100,000, more than twice as high as Rutland, which had the lowest rate of 118.9 per 100,000,
Phelan, J. (2010).
Different levels of income may also contribute to avoidable mortalities. Come to think of
it, with low social class people it is hard for them to meet the required nutritional standards given
to them by the health nutritionists or even access the vaccines being given and this puts them in
danger of being more susceptible to deaths which a healthy eating person would not have
succumbed to.
Statistics have also shown that lack of employment may lead to depression and these
people are more prone to succumb to health problems due to unhealthy eating or even
congestions in housing leading to a higher spread of infectious diseases and transmissions.
Behavioral patterns like smoking are also among the reasons for avoidable mortalities.
People addicted to smoking and drug abuse are more likely to live shorter lives as compared to
persons not involved in any use of alcohol and all other heavy nicotine.
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Inequalities in the prevalence of mental ill-health
Because rates of recognition, reporting and diagnosis are expected to differ between
social groups, assessing disparities in the prevalence of mental illness between social groups is
difficult and complex. Evidence demonstrates that disparities in mental illness exist across
several protected traits, such as sexual orientation, sex, and ethnicity.
For example, people in the United Kingdom who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender (LGBT) experience higher chances of mental issues including depression, anxiety,
and self-harm, than those who do not identify as LGBT. This is due to the discrimination in
receiving health care services and other public services which most have reported as victims to.
Also, the lack of sense of belonging is among the major reasons why most of them end up in
depression and even cases of suicide.
According to the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, women were more likely than
men to report symptoms of a common mental health problem, with one out of every five women
reporting symptoms vs one out of every eight males. The gender discrepancy was especially
substantial among young people, with young women reporting greater rates of self-harm and
positive PTSD screening than men of the same age. Men were found to be twice as likely as
women to be addicted to alcohol or drugs. These figures revealed that women are more likely to
suffer from mental illnesses, which may be attributed to unequal treatment from men that begins
at a young age. Women growing up in a society that believes in men being better and also the
pressure to be recognized as a woman may be the reason why most end up depressed. Women
being a minority group then mental issues becomes a bigger part of it all.
Ethnicity has also been linked to differences in mental health. For example, Black males
(3.2%) and Asian men (1.3%) had larger rates of psychotic disorder than White men (0.3%), but
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women had no significant racial differences. Being socially ostracized has been identified as one
of the key factors contributing to the greater prevalence of mental illness when compared to the
general population. For example, more than 80% of people who are homeless report having a
mental health problem, and they are 14 times more likely to commit suicide than the overall
population. Asylum seekers and refugees are also more likely to suffer from depression, post-
traumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders.
Conclusion
People in England endure systematic, unfair, and avoidable variations in their health, the
care they receive, and the opportunity they have to live healthy lives due to causes that are often
beyond their direct control. Interventions to address health inequities must take into account the
complexities of how inequalities are generated and sustained, or they risk being ineffective or
even harmful, Turner, D. (2013). For example, efforts to address health inequalities linked to
behavioral risks like poor diets should consider the larger network of factors that influence these
behaviors, such as access to affordable healthy food, marketing, and advertising regulations, and
their impact on health outcomes like access to clinical services. Health inequalities affect
everyone from top to bottom and are not inevitable with the gaps having not been fixed. The
national government has the role of making the gap between social classes a bit smaller by
reducing the cost of living and taxes to the disadvantaged people and also improving their access
to health services and consultations on health and nutrition matters. Creating awareness among
the people on mental problems and ways of coping up with them would also reduce on the health
inequalities. Discrimination of the minority groups should also be avoided to avoid issues of self-
harm and suicides which take about 26% of the total deaths per year. Evidence suggests that
taking a holistic strategy to address issues can have a positive impact. To address the causes of
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health inequities, a multi-pronged approach is required. This includes, but is not limited to, the
healthcare system.
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References
Barr, B., Kinderman, P., & Whitehead, M. (2015). Trends in mental health inequalities in
England during a period of recession, austerity, and welfare reform 2004 to 2013. Social
Science & Medicine, 147, 324-331.
Blackman, T., Wistow, J., & Byrne, D. (2011). A qualitative comparative analysis of factors
associated with trends in narrowing health inequalities in England. Social Science &
Medicine, 72(12), 1965-1974.
Phelan, J. C., Link, B. G., & Tehranifar, P. (2010). Social conditions as fundamental causes of
health inequalities: theory, evidence, and policy implications. Journal of health and
social behavior, 51(1_suppl), S28-S40.
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HEALTH INEQUALITIES IN ENGLAND

Health Inequalities in England

living costs causing an increase in health issues like air pollution.

Causes of health inequalities

related to the peoples' social-economic circumstances which majorly is deprivation of people

lower compared to the south.

shorter lives in poor health.

congestions in housing leading to a higher spread of infectious diseases and transmissions.

Inequalities in the prevalence of mental ill-health

several protected traits, such as sexual orientation, sex, and ethnicity.

depression and even cases of suicide.

traumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders.

Science & Medicine, 147, 324-331.

Medicine, 72(12), 1965-1974.

social behavior, 51(1_suppl), S28-S40.

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