5.
SECTION B: SOCIAL
ISSUES IN THE UK
Study Theme 2: Wealth and Health in the UK
CONNECT: Empathy-builder
‘Taxes for the rich will be scrapped tomorrow and replaced
with voluntary philanthropy’
- How might a millionaire feel about this?
- A person on average income?
- Someone receiving income support?
Learning Intentions:
• Understand the causes of health inequalities
• Be able to give examples of causes
• Be able to give evidence, linked to examples of health
inequalities
• Be able to demonstrate understanding of the conflicting
explanations of the causes of poor health
Causes:
• Poverty
• Geography
• Lifestyle Choices
• Gender
• Age
• Race
Link between Poverty and Poor health
Those from lower socioeconomic groups have poorer
outcomes when diagnosed with cancer with the result that
mortality rates are higher for deprived groups, with
unskilled workers twice as likely to die from cancer as
professionals.
Causes: Glasgow case study
Why is Glasgow so bad? David Walsh – the history of industrial
decline and ingrained deprivation.
Greater alienation, family breakdown, gender relations and
parenting differences, sectarianism, climate, the concentration
of deprivation and even genetic factors play a part.
Some suspect the city's poor climate and diet affects
Glaswegians' vitamin D levels.
Average pay for men in Glasgow in 2010 was £23,356,
compared with £87,516 in Kensington and Chelsea
Illustrate: using pictures only, explain the
reasons why health is so poor in Glasgow.
Cause: Geography
• Geographic location has an impact on health, because of
economic factors such as employment and health service
provision. Location will also have a bearing on lifestyle
choices.
• Inequalities in health outcomes are apparent between areas
with different levels of deprivation, with premature mortality
from cancer and from coronary heart disease (CHD) 15%
higher for those living in the most deprived areas compared to
the rest of the population.
• Between 2000 and 2009, CHD mortality rates in the under 75s
fell by 45% in Scotland overall, but only by 36% in the most
deprived areas.
Postcode lottery is a term to describe
geographic inequalities in health…
Inequalities in service provision such as doctor, dentist and
hospital provision vary throughout the UK. Decisions made by
health trusts about which operations, treatments and drugs to
fund mean that people with the same health problems in
neighbouring areas may receive differing levels of treatment.
Health is better in London and the South of England compared
to other parts of the UK this is because this area has the highest
incomes and the lowest unemployment and it is well served by
the NHS.
The life expectancy of a man in Greater Glasgow and Clyde is 4 years shorter
than a man in the Borders…
Lifestyle Choices
• There are other factors which do result from individual choice,
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such as lifestyle choices, diet and smoking and personal
circumstances, such as unemployment and wealth.
Higher mortality rates are due to a range of factors; poorer
diets, poor housing leading to illnesses such as asthma and
hypothermia and increased rates of smoking.
These disadvantages start young. Mothers who do not have a
good diet when they are pregnant or who smoke or abuse
alcohol or drugs or who do not get sufficient medical attention
during pregnancy are at greater risk of still births.
Diet – diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer
Smoking – all of the above
Lack of exercise – all of the above
Gender
• Men tend to have a poorer approach to their diet than women.
• They consume less fruit and vegetables and their salt intake is
significantly higher, resulting in health problems.
• About 64% of Scottish adult men and 57% of Scottish adult
women are either overweight or obese.
• The higher percentage of obese men means that greater
numbers of men are at risk from the effects of illnesses
associated with being overweight.
Age
• Healthiest people, both male and female, are those aged 16•
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45.
Effects of a lifetime of work, physical activity and consumption
take their toll as people get older.
98% of dementia sufferers are over 65.
People aged 75 or more have demand levels for resources
that are twice the average.
25% of those over 75 attend the hospital compared to just
14% of the rest of the population.
In Scotland, the elderly are entitled to free personal care.
Race or Ethnicity
• Some races are more susceptible to certain diseases than
others.
• Infant mortality rates are often affected by ethnicity.
• Cultural differences – smoking or alcohol consumption as well
as poverty, harassment and discrimination also generate
differences in standards of health.
• Health Survey for England 2000 – smoking rates among
Bangladeshi men are nearly twice as high as the general
population.
Reflect
Provide a summary of what you learnt this cycle . In the
style of a news report.