HEALTH ILLNESS AND SOCIETY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HEALTH ILLNESS AND SOCIETY - Essay Example nditions of the poor and the rich differed notably in the UK(Office of National Statistics, 2007).Many socio-economic aspects can explain health inequalities. Not only poor people live less long than the rich people, but also they have more years of poor health. There is also inequality in access to health. The young and able-bodied people receive better treatment than theold and disabled people (BBC News, 2009).In UK one of most important health challenges existing today is diabetes.By 2011 the number of people affected by the problem of diabetes islikely to reach to 5 million (Diabetes and the disadvantaged: reducing health inequalities in the UK, 2006, p. 5). Almost half of these people are from disadvantaged community, who do not have adequate access to the appropriate care. Life expectancy at birth for men and women in all the social classes has increased from 1972-2006. Over the years mortality gap has been widened amongst social classes (Office of National Statistics, 2007).Death proportions for both the men and women have increased overtime. This is also true for children and adults. Improved living conditions, availability of healthcare and other factors have caused the infant mortality rate to fall significantly (Health Inequalities in the UK, 2009, 14). One can define health inequalities in two different ways. One is absolute and the other is relative. By subtracting one figure or rate from another, we get absolute inequalities and by dividing one number or rate by another, we get relative inequalities.Socio-economic class is the only cause of measuring health inequalities in England.There are many other dimensions of measuring health inequalities, which are also very important (Ihsan& Ahmad, 1993). There are differences of health among ethnic groups. In 2001 Chinese men and women in England and Wales reported the lowest frequencies of both poor health and restricting long-term ailment, while Pakistani and Bangladeshi men and women recounted the