Factors Affecting Health Choices - Essay Example

In the past health care in Britain was considered to be of good quality by the citizens as compared to other nations internationally. This broad judgment is however misleading in many levels since the focus is on the overall standards of health that hide variation in the population as explained by Baggott (1994). An individual is considered to be healthy if they are in a state of complete physical, social and mental well being and not the absence of disease according to the positive concept. The negative concept suggests that an individual is regarded as being healthy when not suffering from a certain disease or illness. An illness has wider social implications and refers to the personal experience while a disease is a malfunctioning diagnosed by a qualified health practitioner as suggested by Davey and Seale (2002). The negative approach is dominant over the positive approach and has implications on health measurement since it indicates health in a negative perspective by measuring how unhealthy the population is. Social surveys including the General Household survey (GHS) research on health matter giving unbiased analysis. Health matters vary in many ways according to sex, age, social classes, ethnic groups, location and the social structure. There are multiple factors affecting health and inequality including socio-economic, physical environment and psychological factors. Unequal access to proper transport has adverse implications on social mobility and this determines access to health services and education. According to reports lack of access to a vehicle is the main transport factor affecting exclusion of the low-income group. It is stated that transport provision and cost may act as a hindrance to access to health facilities which leads to poor health among the excluded people. A Social Exclusion Review Unit studied the problems associated with access to health care and the impact of traffic on marginalized communities. Levels of exclusion are associated with economic status of individuals, age and geographical location and affect both urban and rural inhabitants’ lack of money, physical immobility and timings and routing of public means of transport. There is a positive relationship between ownership of proper housing and the affordability of quality health services by an individual. This is affected by the income of an individual and affects other factors including education of the individual. Proper housing has evidence of positive health choices and development of attitudes and aspirations for the well-being of a person as explained by Taylor and Field (2007). Poor housing leads to overcrowding and has negative effects on health and educational attainment. The low-income group has a higher level of unemployment and high poverty levels leading to poor health choices as stated Ogden (2000). This creates inequality in society as the people with a high income practice positive health choices leading to better health. The media plays a major role as it facilitates social mobility and creates awareness on health matter to a large number of citizens. Through improved communication it complements physical mobility reducing problems associated with access to transport for the excluded individuals. The media acts as a forum where people can ask questions concerning health matters. This creates inequality as the people who cannot access the media do no get the information on health matters as explained by Alcock, Payne and Sullivan (2003). The media helps to incorporate all member of society and can be used as a tool to educate the citizens on proper health choices. The media creates inequality as the excluded group can not access the health facilities and does offer any solutions for their immediate health needs. There is a positive relationship between education and the health choices made by individuals since it enables individuals to make such choices. It has been observed that across races, age and sexes more educated people are seen to practice better health as explained by Graham (2009). Research has been done and findings reflect that poor with higher education experience better health as compared to the less educated. Education is a powerful tool for improving health and the focus is not only for academic purposes. The British compulsory law policy was introduced to encourage individuals to further their education since education improved health practice according to Ellison and Pearson (2003). This was established as students left school at any opportunity they got and the law encouraged them to stay in school for long. Inequality is caused by disparities in the education level since learned people have positive attitudes and better decision making as compared to the less educated. The income level of an individual is found to have a correlation with how people make health choices. Different levels of income lead to inequalities among different members of society and this affects their health choices as stated by Nettleton (1996). The low-income group is the major concern since they live in poverty and lack access to proper health. Poverty is regarded as the most prominent determinant of health and dictates upon all the other factors including proper housing, education and the environment we live in. The level income leads to inequality among members of society in making health choices and it has been observed that the low-income group experiences more health problems. The group has a poor lifestyle in that members practice health related behaviour including poor dietary practices, smoking, and lack of exercise. They are at a high risk of contracting diseases and get physical injuries due to their environment. There are so many aspects of employment that impact on the health of individuals and the different forms bring out the disparities in society leading to inequalities in society as stated by Black, Townsend and Davidson (1982). Some jobs have job security which is paramount for the assurance of the individual and high rates of income enabling individuals to access proper health care. Studies have shown that there are positive health benefits associated with having a greater control of one’s employment including less mental illnesses and less health complication. Unemployment has adverse effects on health and this can be associated with low income and poverty as explained by Hardy (1998). It has severe effects on the psychological well-being of an individual such as depression, stress and suicide in advanced stages. The sociological effects include increased poverty, isolation and changes in health related behaviour for example smoking which may lead to lung complications. Good nutrition is essential for good health and general well being of the individual in order for it to work it has to be incorporated with physical activity to prevent obesity and other weight related complications. Individuals should maintain a good diet in order to stay healthy and it also helps to develop a strong immune system against illnesses. There is a close relationship between health and diet and studies show that poor diet is related to mental problems and diseases such as cancer and diabetes as stated by Katz and Peberdy (2000). There are inequalities according to diet since the low-income earners may find it expensive to maintain a healthy diet and this explains why they have poor health as compared to the high-income group. Poverty is a major concern affecting health and is one the most difficult areas to achieve any positive change. Poverty affects the quality of life, housing and the level of education an individual can acquire as explained by Iphofen and Polan (1998). Poverty prevents people from making good health choices and healthy practices such as proper diet and exercise as explained by London Health Observatory (2010). It leads to some effects on the individuals’ health such as poor nutrition, mental problems and premature mortality that show healthy inequality. Poverty is caused by low income and unemployment leading to poor housing and education. The overall effect manifests itself in the population since the low-income group experiences poor health and reports high numbers of illnesses. The environment has different effects on health and may be either social or physiological and it relates to the socio-cultural rules and the physical structure. The environment or housing of an individual is affected by the level of income according to Bond and Bond (1998). If an individual dwells in a crowded environment they are at risk of facing health problems due to overcrowding. This may also change the attitudes of people regarding healthy practices such as physical exercise according to Naidoo and Willis (2008). Some environments have high crime rates this leads to poor mental health through stress and depression leading to poor health. This results to inequalities between the people who live in a safe and secure environment and those who live in a harsh environment. Psychological and behavioural factors also influence the decisions made by individuals concerning health matters as explained by Niven (2000). The behaviour of an individual is affected by belief system, family influence and cultural influences. The culture of an individual may restrict them from making certain choices and some choices made be made due to family influence for example the kind of health diet. According to Matsumoto (2000) there is a relationship between culture and psychology and they affect health choices. Some families have improper diet habits and do not exercise leading to an individual making unhealthy choices. The lifestyle of the individual affects the choices made, some habits including smoking, lack of physical exercise and poor diet influence the health of an individual. Health choices made by an individual in Britain are mainly affected by social factors as discussed above. The factors are not controlled by the environment and the individuals conform to them. The psychological and behavioural factors also have a role to play but the environmental factors play the major role according to Rungapadiachy (1999). Health choices are the responsibility of the people and they should they should make decision that promote health. They should practice proper health and refrain from activities such as smoking, lack of physical exercise and avoid stress as stated by Brotherton and Parker (2008). Health choices should be made in order to enable individuals to live for longer and reduce the risk of illnesses. The government should also provide affordable health services to all the citizens which will lead to an improvement in the health sector as a whole according to Ham (2004). References Alcock, C, Payne, S & Sullivan, M 2003, Introducing social policy, Prentice Hall Social, London. Baggott, R 1994, Health and health care in Britain, 2nd edn. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Bond, J and Bond, S 1998, Sociology and health care: An introduction for nurses and other health care professionals, Churchill Livingstone, London. Brotherton, G. and Parker, S 2008, Your Foundation in Health and Social Care, London, Sage Publications. Davey, B. & Seale, C 2002, Experiencing and explaining disease, 3rd edn, Buckingham, OU Press. Ellison, N and Pierson, C 2003, Developments in British social policy, Palgrave Macmillan, London. Graham, H 2009, Understanding health inequalities Milton Keynes, Open University Press . Ham. C 2004, Health Policy in Britain: The politics and organisation of the National Health Service (public policy and politics), Blackwell Synergy, London. Hardy, M 1998, The social context of health, Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Iphofen, R. and Polan, F 1998 Sociology in practice for health care professionals, Macmillan, London. Katz, J and Peberdy, A 2000, Promoting health: knowledge and practice, OU The Open University in association with Palgrave, Buckingham. Matsumoto, D 2000, Culture and psychology: People around the world, Wadsworth Belmont CA. Naidoo, J. & Wills, J 2008,An introduction health studies, Palgrave Macmillan. Nettleton, S 1996, The sociology of health and illness, Cambridge Polity Press. Niven, N 2000, Health psychology for health care professionals, Churchill Livingstone, London. Ogden, J 2000, Health psychology Milton Keynes, Open University Press. Rungapadiachy, D 1999, Elsevier Health Sciences, London. Taylor, S. and Field, D 2007, Sociology of health and health care, Oxford, Wiley Blackwell. Townsend, P., Davidson, N and Black, D 1982, Inequalities in Health, Penguin, Harmondsworth, Read More