Inequalities in Healthcare - Coursework Example

Health inequality is a term that is used to illustrate the difference about health status between groups or individuals. This is usually measured against parameters such as mortality, disease or life expectancy. It is important to note that the paper has laid a lot of focus on the differences in health arising from differences in economic, environmental as well as social variables. Environmental variables, in this case, would include education, one’s occupation, and accessibility to quality healthcare services as well as safe working conditions. Most of these variables are usually beyond an individual’s control, and one can do little in changing these facts. Therefore, health inequalities are simply the unfair and avoidable differences that exist in the entire provision of healthcare and are under an adamant influence from communities, shareholders, and governments and have the capacity to be able to be addressed via public policy.

Over the last ten years, statistics has shown that in Europe alone, there has been a difference of 8 years when it comes to life expectancy for women. Men are following closely with a 14-year gap between women. It is important to note that several countries have recorded an increase in the difference between the European Union average and the national life expectancy. On the other hand, some countries have their mortality rates shooting up in a much unwarranted manner during the last decade. In addition to that, it is more worrying that there is a huge difference of up to a staggering 20 years in the years one lives in a good state of health (Roberts, 2012).

The question that many concerned bodies are still trying to answer is the cause of these inequalities being in existence in the world today. To be able to gain a clear understanding of some of the reasons for these inequalities, it is important to start from the basic definitions of health. Health can be defined as a state characterized by being free from injury or illnesses. One is considered to be in a good state of health when there are no interruptions to the normal life cycle (Taylor and Hawley, 2010). Before bringing into limelight the manner in which sociology is linked to healthcare, it is important to understand some core terms that will be very instrumental when it comes to creating a clear understanding of the relationship. Medicine as the first term refers to a social body whose mandate is to diagnose, treat and even prevent illnesses. In addition to that, it also promotes various dimensions of health.

Lastly, healthcare refers to the act of providing proper medical services with the aim of treating, diagnosing or even preventing health problems. These are the very core terminologies that must be clearly understood if the relationship between sociology and health care is to be thoroughly understood. It is important to note that the sociological perspective of healthcare has managed to offer some explanations of health care but have been very instrumental when it comes to giving the clear understanding of what only sociological approaches can bring to the healthcare practices and norms. In addition to that, one should be able to note that sociological perspectives of healthcare have the capacity to influence some of the major reasons as to why healthcare inequalities have been in persistence until this day (Kronenfeld, 2008).

Sociology has managed to take three major approaches when it comes to its relationship with health care. The three are functionalism, conflict theory as well as symbolic interactionism. It is important first to appreciate the significant assumptions that these three sociological concepts have introduced into the healthcare system. For functionalism, the key critical variables that must be embraced with open arms are adequate medical care and good health. This concept argues that the two are very essential for smooth operation of the society as a whole. In addition to that, it is of the opinion that patients must be able to take the “sick role” in order to be taken as ill so as to be relieved from their daily routines. Therefore, it is conclusive to say that the relationship between a patient and a physician is hierarchical which just means, the patient needs to follow instructions given by the physician.

The conflict theory, on the other hand, suggests that the social inequalities in many countries are the cause of the variation in healthcare quality witnessed today. It argues that people from highly disadvantaged social backgrounds are more vulnerable to illnesses and improper medical care compared to their counterparts from well-off backgrounds. Physicians, on the other hand, have taken advantage of the healthcare situation by redefining social problems to be included in the list of medical conditions. This has been aimed at increasing their incomes. Lastly, symbolic interactionism has been very categorical by linking illnesses and health as social constructions. It is large of the idea that physicians have always been managing the situation with the sole intention of displaying their authority but don’t have the healthcare interest at heart (Lenard and Straehle, 2013).

The sociological functionalist approach is the idea that ill health can impair one’s ability to perform very vital roles in the society, and the overall effect of this is the suffering of people. This has been true especially for premature deaths since individuals are hindered from performing their social roles and in return there is a destitute return to the society regarding costs incurred during pregnancy, childbirth and child care. It is important to note that poor medical attention is dysfunctional for any society since most of the people who fall ill have a lot of a hard time trying to regain their health. In addition to that, the healthy are also vulnerable to becoming unhealthy.

According to this approach, some expectations must be met for someone to be branded as being legitimately ill. The first important thing is that all sick persons must behave in a manner that does not suggest that they are the primary cause of their illnesses. A good example, in this case, is a scenario where one takes food with high-fat content, becomes obese as a result and finally succumbs to a heart attack (Koleva et al., 2012). Such an individual is likely to get little or no sympathy compared to a person who chose to stick to healthy foods. Another good example is someone who crashes into a tree as a result of drunk driving is likely to get less sympathy since this is an action that could have easily been avoided. As a matter of fact, it is always said that it is unwise to drink and drive.

The conflict approach has proven to be very handy when it comes to criticizing the effort that has been put forth by physicians to control medicine practice and their inclusion of some social problems as medical problems. It is important to note that these are some of the vices that have been a major hindrance to the manner in which healthcare is administered. This action by physicians has proven to have both negative and positive effects. On the right side, they deserve credit for believing that they have been incapacitated with the skills necessary to diagnose some conditions and administer a treatment plan to all those people who have those problems.

On the other hand, the downside has been characterized by their greed to have a self-belief that all these will not be free and their salaries must be able to increase tremendously. This is only possible if they manage to succeed in their quest of including social problems as medical problems. The devastating thing about this course is the fact that once the problems presented are categorized as medical problems, the social roots, as well as the potential solutions, become ignored. As much as alternative medicine has managed to gain a lot of popularity, many physicians are of this course. In their opinion, they have a strong feeling that the therapeutic alternatives presented not only inadequate but also dangerous as they have the capacity to interfere with their medical practices. This is an imperative factor that still tries to illustrate the reason as to why inequalities in healthcare still thrive in the current society (Jasper and Jumaa, 2007).

The last approach illustrates that the reason as to why there is a deadlock when it comes to inequalities in healthcare is that this problem has been created. In this case, some mental and physical conditions have no reality but are considered ill if they fall under such a definition set up by the society. This approach has managed to go a mile further in trying to find out the relationship that exists between patients and their individual health professionals. On the other hand, physicians have been able to show their prowess in the manner in which they manage the situation by displaying their medical knowledge and authority. Many patients have to endure waiting for their physicians for a long time before a treatment exercise can commence.

All these are creations as humans need not wait for periodic long times especially when in a bad state of health. In addition to that, physicians have developed a habit of using very complex terminologies when addressing their patients instead of sticking to simple, understandable terms that are easy to comprehend by all and sundry. All these are considered as the main contributors towards the ever persistent inequalities that exist in the provision of healthcare. All in all, a sociologist’s understanding is the emphasis that one’s social background has a significant influence on the quality of health care services that he/she is likely to receive. In addition to that, there is an element of society’s social structure and culture that also play a huge role in the quality of health and health care (Marmor and Wendt, 2011).

Some of the potential barriers discussed that act as a major hindrance to health care provision. The most common barrier, in this case, is age. It is important to note that being of a younger age can itself be a barrier, especially to both non-immigrants and immigrants. When one was 24 years of age, this was already a potential barrier when it came to the moment when one was to begin prenatal care in later pregnancy stages. The second most common barrier was one’s gender. It is important to note that both males and females have some similar life opportunities and experiences. On the other hand, the fact that they are exposed to some different opportunities both in the labor market and at home is an indication that they are vulnerable to various health risks.

The fact that one was a male in an ethnic minority acted as a barrier towards getting into a nursing home using the right channel. The third demographic barrier, in this case, is one’s marital status (Armoni, 2010). The state of being unmarried in some instances acted as s potential barrier even though some analysts argue that it can be less of a barrier and more of a predictor of need. Initially, being married was considered as the primary determinant of one’s healthcare in a group of ethnic minorities. The excitement characterized by being in a relationship or married was spearheaded by the fact that pregnancy created an opening for one to get into a healthcare scheme easily. Lastly, one’s ethnic background especially is highly polarized countries also acts as a hindrance to effective healthcare.

Conclusion

The paper has managed to highlight a number of inequalities that are in existence in the current healthcare system and why they are still in existence. Three main theories have been used to support this argument with the main focus being on human attributes that can be avoided or reversed in order to do away with such inequalities. In addition to that, there are a number of cultural values that have also acted as a hindrance to eliminating the inequalities present. The paper found out that provided one is still rooted in a unique cultural system, several inequalities will still come in play when it comes to the inequalities present in healthcare provision.