Causes and Solutions to Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health
One of the most promising research areas in sociology is concerned with studying several areas regarding interaction between human beings, mainly their social lives, all with a motive of studying the social problems (Andersen and Taylor 2). . As such, it sociological methods do not only evaluate the setbacks and social life in the community but also come up with solutions for mitigating the challenges experienced in the society. Socioeconomic is one of the fields of concern that has subsequent effects on other social areas and as evidenced in “Sickness and Wealth,” it has enormous repercussion on the health ( Health in America n.p.). The inequalities in socioeconomic status of individuals reflect on the health variations among them.
Socioeconomic inequalities are the presence of unequal opportunities for individuals occupying different social positions. Socioeconomic inequalities have several important dimensions. As such, there are two elements that are used define the socioeconomic position of a person; income, which denotes the earnings from work, and wealth, which is the total assets and money of the individual minus the debts. Other vital aspects of the socioeconomic status of a person include occupational prestige and power.
Sociology explains several factors that cause the socioeconomic variations. As such, sickness is seen to affect mainly the poverty stricken people. Such people have a shorter life expectancy at birth and experience high mortality rate. This is attributed to the poor lifestyle they live in and the many risks they experience (Andersen and Taylor 234). “Sickness and Wealth” explain this by reviewing the lives of an unemployed mother, a CEO, lab supervisor and a janitor (Health in American.p.). The difference noted between these persons explain the variations noted in the health-wealth gradient. The wealthy people are seen to live a healthier and longer life as compared to the middle class and the low earners in the society. There are different theories in sociology that explain variation in the health and prevalence of sickness to the poor.
One of the approaches of explaining poverty as derived from sociology is the blaming of the poor. Based on this theory, it is the poor individuals who are responsible for the poverty they prevail in. This can be evidenced by the fact that most of the poor people suffer from poverty either because they are unemployed or because they lack a constant source of income (Andersen and Taylor 235). The poor people are seen to be the cause of their poverty because several opportunities in the society remain underutilized, and the people are poor because they lack personal motivation or skills.
Another approach based on sociology that explains poverty is the blame society. It explains that poverty is as a result of the society one live in. If one lives in a society with limited opportunities or employment slots, such people are at a risk of being poverty-stricken. If society does not have enough resources and opportunities to support such people, poverty will prevail amongst some people and health and sickness challenges will be on the rise.
In “In Sickness and Wealth”, the map of Louisville Metro reveals a ten-year gap life expectancy between the rich people and the working class. The health complications are in line with life expectancy gap which proves that poverty is one of the causes of sickness and poor health as per sociology. Poor individuals are disempowered and most often get sicker and die sooner as compared to other people who are wealthier.
Works Cited
Andersen, Margaret L, and Howard F. Taylor. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society. Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006.
