How Social Class and Ethnicity Contribute to Health Care Practices - Essay Example

Running head: HEALTH CULTURE SOCIAL How Social and Ethni Contribute to Health Care Practices [Click here and type [Click here and type your institution's name] Inequalities in Health in Relation to Social and Ethnic Class As early as 1837 when "William Farr, the first Superintendent of Statistics, clearly believed that it was the responsibility of the national office not just to record deaths, but to uncover underlying linkages which might help to prevent disease and suffering in the future" 1 (Acheson, 1998) the British government has continued to embark on understanding the great divide that has occurred between classes of citizens in Britain and possibly the world. One of the purposes of the Black Report was to "explain trends in inequalities in health and relate these to policies intended to promote as well as restore health" (Acheson, 1998). A resultant factor of the report was not only the mandates to be addressed and policies in place to anticipate future problems within the health care system; it also provided such organisations as the World Health Organisation to agree on common health strategies well into the late 80s. As health organisations come together to understand the problems that seem to plague socioeconomic levels, there needs to be some explanation as to why there are these problems in existence. The health system in general is riddled with inequalities broken down into two main classifications: ethnic group and social class. This paper will endeavour to break down these inequalities through explanation of cultural differences, social class distinctions including review of the Marxist viewpoint as well as a Functionalist viewpoint. It is important to realise that these viewpoints have pros and cons and will be evaluated only on those distinctions. Socioeconomic Struggles in Health Care There is a common socioeconomic distinction with respect to how health care perceive how they should deliver on the immediate needs with respect to social class breakdown. It has been shown that historically, there is a higher occurrence of illnesses and shorter lifespan recorded for those individuals who are unemployed, work within the household (i.e. housewives) and those are not potentially in the workforce itself. This common denominator seems to affect how health care is provided and delivered to these demographics. The purpose of the model shown is to emphasise that "interactions is needed between these different layers. For example, individual lifestyles are embedded in social and community networks and in living and working conditions, which in turn are related to the wider cultural and socioeconomic environment." (Acheson, 1998) Another important factor in understanding the socioeconomic factors with respect to "differential exposure - from before birth and across the life span - to risks associated with socioeconomic position are also important in explaining health inequalities which exist by ethnicity and gender and how these risks are interconnected are shown here." (Acheson, 1998) One of the findings throughout this process has been constantly brought back to social class inequalities in the type of health care that is received in an effort to ensure cross-platform health care. It is important to realize that those individuals on the lower end of the spectrum with respect to receiving "top notch" health care in relation to the individuals on the high end of the spectrum are still prevalent today. For instance, individuals who are on the high end of the scale for shortened life span due to smoking may be part of the privileged few that can afford the necessary treatments to cease the usage of smoke cessation products like cigarettes; but, on the other end of the treatment scenario, you may have those individuals that cannot afford the treatments to stop the cycle of tobacco reliance and therefore miss out on the opportunity to relieve themselves of this addiction. Another important factor in understanding the ethnic inequalities is that many of these ethic groups have a "low income, defined as below half average income, are more likely to be unemployed, lone parents and their children, people with disabilities or pensioners and to live in social housing. Some minority ethnic groups, especially Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, are over-represented in the poorest fifth of the income distribution". (Acheson, 1998) As a result of this obvious division of ethnic status to health care attention, it is important for the governing bodies to ensure health care reaches all those groups no matter there socioeconomic status. There have been some recommendations with respect to having the government address this "through the establishment of a national minimum wage, "Welfare to Work" and other measures. This approach should be accompanied by efforts to redistribute resources, in cash or kind, to those who, for reasons such as age or disability, are unable to work, and to those families for whom work is not available or appropriate." (Acheson, 1998). Many individuals respond to this inequality through their own policy of social class monitoring with such theories emanating from the Marxist and Functionalist camps. Each group's social theory respecting health care inequalities will be further highlighted through balanced discussion. Marxist Theory on Social Health Reform One of the philosophies of true Marxism is the fact that social class should not be a predicating factor in ensuring that individuals receiving their fare share of health care in that "Marx has also been criticized from the Left. Democratic socialists and social democrats reject the idea that socialism can be accomplished only through class conflict and violent revolution. Others argue that class is not the most fundamental inequality in history and call attention to patriarchy or race. However, Marxists argue that these inequalities are linked to class and therefore will largely cease to exist after the formation of a classless society" (Wikipedia, 2006) One of the main contributors to the continued inequality in the social classes can be encapsulated by Marxist ideology in that "by creating and recreating sexual inequalities, and keeping women in the home with responsibility for family subsistence, emotional support and reproduction, the family helps capitalism continue to exploit labour and helps maintains stability within a system of class oppression and inequality." (Gingrich, 2002) This viewpoint is simply not justified in a world that requires it to embrace women as a workforce and can encourage fiscal responsibility by governments in helping this social class rise above their current status through health programs aimed at increasing mortality rates. Functionalism Theory An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. -Plutarch Structure-functionalism is defined as "relying upon an "organic" analogy of human society as being "like an organism," a system of interdependent parts that function for the benefit of the whole" (Sapp, 2004) that translates to the theory that a system of independent companies must work together to form the whole society itself. One of the arguments that [Sapp] makes in his works for his Sociology class is that: Structure functionalism focuses on what is good for the whole of society. The functionalism perspective argues that social stratification can be good for society if it motivates persons in lower positions to better themselves so they can experience upward social mobility. Gender role inequalities have functions and dysfunctions. Society both benefits and suffers from gender role relationships. The "balance" of functions and dysfunctions determines social action. If gender role inequalities, on the whole, are deemed dysfunctional, then macro-level changes in norms are introduced. Affirmative action and gender role inequalities The resulting understanding of the functionalism theory is that it is important for society as a whole to band together to ensure that all individuals receive the same no matter what their standing is in society. Health Care in General Prior to 1948, health services were mainly based on three sources: Charity and the voluntary sector. Private health care. Hospitals were fee paying or voluntary; primary care was mainly fee-paying or insurance-based. The Poor Law and local government. Poor Law hospitals were transferred to local government by the 1930 Poor Law Act. Great strides have been taken to remove the terminology about "social class" from the minds of the British people in order to engage in providing the most basic health services not to just the "privileged few", but, to all citizens as part of their basic fundamental rights. This process may or may not prove to be a systematic approach to improving health inequalities amongst the different ethnic groups that fall into the lower social classes, but, since the Black Report many compromises and improvements in the delivery of health care to all citizens is very evident albeit in small steps. "The debate about equity and health is complex and wide-ranging, and has an international component - all countries have inequality and inequity." (Richard F Heller, David P Weller, Konrad Jamrozik, 2004) References Acheson, Donald (1998). Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report". TSOWeb. Retrieved 13 Jan. 2006 from Heller, Richard F., Weller, David P, Jamrozik, Konrad. UK health inequalities: the class system is alive and well. MJA 2004; 181 (3): 128. ISSN: 0025-729X. Retrieved 13 Jan. 2006 from The Robert Gordon University. Health Care in Britain. Introduction to Social Policy. Retrieved 13 Jan. 2006 from Wikipedia contributors (2006). Karl Marx. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 22:42, February 13, 2006 from Read More