Class Inequalities in Health

Class Inequalities in Health The Black Report (Black et al, 1980) was commissioned in 1977 by the Labour Secretary of State. Though there had always been a public concern about social class difference and mortality, it was the first ever review of the Health of Britains working age population. The initial purpose of the report was to measure the impact of ill health within the workforce (Macintyre, 1997). However, the report shocked the government by revealing a clear correlation between ill heath and lower social class. Conversely these inequalities have been widening rather than diminishing since the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) (Gray, 1982). This essay is going to focus on the main factors behind class inequalities that the Black Report identified and how relevant this report is today. The Black Report identified a relationship between social class and ill health, life expectancy and infant mortality rates. The persistence of these inequalities has become the subject of continuing debate. The Black report identified four different possible explanations; artefact, social selection, cultural and material. The artefact explanation considers the existence of health inequalities as simply an artefact of the measurement system used. According to this theory any variance in health within social classes will depend on how both health and class are measured (McIntyre, 1997). However, these inequalities are often still present even when different techniques are employed when measuring social class. It is thought, if anything, that the statistics may in fact under report the extent of class and health inequalities (Kirby et al. 1997). The second explanation for these health inequalities is social selection. This theory speculates that people with ill health will generally decrease in social status while a fit and healthy person would be more likely to advance social class (Maguire, 2010). This combined effect contributes to the evident health inequalities. Within this idea a distinction between direct and indirect health selection has been made. Direct is where health alone is attributed to social mobility whereas indirect is where another quality is involved with the mobility process (Wilkinson, 1987, Platt, 2006) Few supporters of this extreme view can be found. Though ill health may have an effect on social mobility, it is often too small to account for any significant health difference (Wilkinson, 1996). Townsend and Davison (1990) also found that relatively few sick professionals experience downward occupational changes. However, as regards the social selections importance as an explanation of health inequali ties it appears to play a small but yet still significant role (Platt, 2006). The two remaining (cultural and material) explanations of health inequalities have received considerable attention. The cultural explanation proposes that members of lower social classes often choose less healthy lifestyles (smoking, eating larger quantities of fatty foods and participating in less exercise) compared to members of middle or upper class groups, thus resulting in comparatively ill health. However, similar patterns in ill health can also be found within people who follow a relatively healthy lifestyle. Though it cant be disputed that there is a correlation between a less healthy lifestyle choice and ill health, it cannot be considered the full explanation for the presence of health inequalities (Townsend and Davison, 1990, Pratt 2006) The final factor behind inequalities in health identified by the Black Report is material. This explanation highlights the role of economic factors in the distribution of ill health. Within this it is thought that members of lower social groups face material constraints and poor living conditions which prevent them from living a healthy lifestyle. These material constraints include poverty, bad housing, low income and a lack of health and educational resources. This theory coincides with Wilkinsons (1997) argument that Poverty is the most important determinant of health. The material explanation does account for a significant amount of the inequality between social classes, possibly more so than the other explanations, but once again it cannot account for all. The Black Report clearly identified many shortcomings within healthcare. It is also apparent that each of the four factors previously identified play a role in explaining the presence of these health inequalities, though some play a more significant role than others. Due to the change to a Conservative government at the time the report was published it was released quietly (only 450 copies available) with the hope it would go unnoticed (Abercrombie and Ward, 2000). This meant that it was many years until any action was taken. In 1987 the Health Education Council (HEC) commissioned the Health Divide. This report was concerned with measuring the current health inequalities and to determine what progress had been made since the Black Report was published 7 years previously. Like the Black Report the findings emphasized the link between ill health and social class and identified that the gap between social classes had widened. More recently in 1997 Labour commissioned the Acheson report (Acheson, 1998) which was an independent inquiry into health inequalities (Abercrombie and Ward, 2000). Similar to the Health Divide, the Acheson Reports findings mirrored those of the Black report. These included rates of long term illness (e.g heart disease and strokes) in 45-64 year olds being 17% in members of upper class groups compared to 48% in lower socioeconomic groups. These results once again indicate a considerable social class health inequality that is still widening (Davey et al, 1990). Also these results agreed with the fourth explanation within the Black report (material) as poverty was identified as the main cause of social inequality. It is clear that over the last thirty years social inequalities within health has been a major issue. Since these reports were issued reversing this trend of health inequalities has been a high priority on the government agenda (Abercrombie Ward, 2000). Who are committed to lower these inequalities (Department of Health, 2004). Unfortunately, even with all the actions that have been taken the gap between social groups is thought to have worsened (Sim and Mackie, 2006, Davey, 1990).

Abraham Lincoln Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

Abraham Lincoln   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. When he was two, the Lincoln’s moved a few miles to another farm on the old Cumberland Trail. A year later, his mother gave birth to another boy, Thomas, but he died a few days later. When Lincoln was seven his family moved to Indiana. In 1818, Lincoln’s mother died from a deadly disease called the â€Å"milk-sick.† Then ten years later his sister died and left him with only his father and stepmother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lincoln traveled to New Salem in April 1831 and settled there the following July. In the fall of 1836 he and Mrs. Bennett Abell had a deal that if she brought her single sister to New Salem he had to promise to marry her. When she arrived he was not to pleased with her because her skin was full of fat. Around seven months later he asked Mrs. Orville Browning to marry him but she said no. Lincoln met his wife to be, Mary Todd, at the grand cotillion in honor of the completion of the new capital building in 1839. They got engaged and a while later he broke off the engagement because she was seeing other men. Around a year later in Springfield on November 4, 1842 Abraham and Mary got married. In 1844, Abraham and his wife were able to purchase their own house in Springfield. It was a one-and-a-half story frame cottage. In May 1843, the Lincoln’s had a son and named him Robert, after the addition to the family they made the house a full two story house. Lincoln had three more sons Edward Baker, William Wallace, and Thomas. Edward died at the age of three, the cause of death was either consumption or pulmonary tuberculosis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1832 Lincoln announced himself a candidate for the state legislature but he was defeated. Then a year later he was appointed postmaster of New Salem and in the fall he became deputy county surveyor. He really wanted a seat in the Illinois legislature so he ran again and was elected with bipartisan support.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lincoln was very interested in being a lawyer, he would walk fifteen miles just to watch the court cases in Boonville, Indiana. Lincoln got a license to practice law after several hard years of teaching himself. By the early 1850s, the Lincoln-Herndon law office had become a leading Springfield firm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Territories, Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois came out with a new congr... ... was shot and killed by federal troops who cornered him in a burning barn near Port Royal, Virginia. Seven men and one woman were arrested as accomplices to Booth. Herold, Paine, and Atzerodt were the most active accomplices and were sentenced to death by hanging. O’Laughlin, Arnold, Dr. Mudd were unjustly accused with helping plan the murder, but got life sentences. Edman Spangler got six years and Mary Surratt was sentenced to death for having Booth’s riffle waiting for him that night. On July 7, the three men and one woman were hung.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lincoln did not stay buried at the Oak Ridge Cemetery. His body was kidnapped by a band of ransom-hungry grave robbers, therefore, his body was moved around for the next 36 years. Lincoln was then buried at a spacious memorial of eight acres but grave robbers struck again and as the coffin was half out the police showed up. Under Robert Lincoln’s instructions a hole thirteen feet deep was dug below the main catacomb floor, a four-foot base of cement was laid and an iron cage sunk into it. The coffin would be lowered into the cage and cement poured, creating a block eight feet deep. Finally, Abraham Lincoln can rest in peace. Abraham Lincoln Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio Abraham Lincoln   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. When he was two, the Lincoln’s moved a few miles to another farm on the old Cumberland Trail. A year later, his mother gave birth to another boy, Thomas, but he died a few days later. When Lincoln was seven his family moved to Indiana. In 1818, Lincoln’s mother died from a deadly disease called the â€Å"milk-sick.† Then ten years later his sister died and left him with only his father and stepmother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lincoln traveled to New Salem in April 1831 and settled there the following July. In the fall of 1836 he and Mrs. Bennett Abell had a deal that if she brought her single sister to New Salem he had to promise to marry her. When she arrived he was not to pleased with her because her skin was full of fat. Around seven months later he asked Mrs. Orville Browning to marry him but she said no. Lincoln met his wife to be, Mary Todd, at the grand cotillion in honor of the completion of the new capital building in 1839. They got engaged and a while later he broke off the engagement because she was seeing other men. Around a year later in Springfield on November 4, 1842 Abraham and Mary got married. In 1844, Abraham and his wife were able to purchase their own house in Springfield. It was a one-and-a-half story frame cottage. In May 1843, the Lincoln’s had a son and named him Robert, after the addition to the family they made the house a full two story house. Lincoln had three more sons Edward Baker, William Wallace, and Thomas. Edward died at the age of three, the cause of death was either consumption or pulmonary tuberculosis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1832 Lincoln announced himself a candidate for the state legislature but he was defeated. Then a year later he was appointed postmaster of New Salem and in the fall he became deputy county surveyor. He really wanted a seat in the Illinois legislature so he ran again and was elected with bipartisan support.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lincoln was very interested in being a lawyer, he would walk fifteen miles just to watch the court cases in Boonville, Indiana. Lincoln got a license to practice law after several hard years of teaching himself. By the early 1850s, the Lincoln-Herndon law office had become a leading Springfield firm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Territories, Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois came out with a new congr... ... was shot and killed by federal troops who cornered him in a burning barn near Port Royal, Virginia. Seven men and one woman were arrested as accomplices to Booth. Herold, Paine, and Atzerodt were the most active accomplices and were sentenced to death by hanging. O’Laughlin, Arnold, Dr. Mudd were unjustly accused with helping plan the murder, but got life sentences. Edman Spangler got six years and Mary Surratt was sentenced to death for having Booth’s riffle waiting for him that night. On July 7, the three men and one woman were hung.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lincoln did not stay buried at the Oak Ridge Cemetery. His body was kidnapped by a band of ransom-hungry grave robbers, therefore, his body was moved around for the next 36 years. Lincoln was then buried at a spacious memorial of eight acres but grave robbers struck again and as the coffin was half out the police showed up. Under Robert Lincoln’s instructions a hole thirteen feet deep was dug below the main catacomb floor, a four-foot base of cement was laid and an iron cage sunk into it. The coffin would be lowered into the cage and cement poured, creating a block eight feet deep. Finally, Abraham Lincoln can rest in peace.

“What is right and wrong?” and “What is Truth?”

Life is characterized by many situations that require decision making, especially on moral grounds. The issue of what makes an action right and wrong has been studied for a lengthy period of time and several theories developed to address this issue. Socrates and Aristotle are some of the early philosophers who came up with theories about the rightness or wrongness of actions. As noted by Warnek (2005), Socrates considered self-knowledge as necessity of life and also, an important ingredient to success. Socrates stated that every individual needs to attain self-knowledge which is acquired by studying every fact necessary for existence. Socrates believed that by possessing knowledge about what is right, individuals are most likely to perform good deeds and that the bad deeds in the society come from those who are ignorant of what is right and wrong. Socrates proposed that, by being aware of the spiritual and mental consequences of wrong actions, no individual would even consider engaging in such actions. According to Socrates, any individual who is aware of a truly right action will automatically choose it over the wrong one. Aristotle on the other hand stated that all humans have physical, emotional and rational natures. Of the three, Aristotle considered the rational nature as not only being the most important of the three but also uniquely human and fundamental to philosophical self-awareness. Aristotle encouraged moderation and regarded extreme actions as being immoral and degrading. For instance, recklessness and cowardice are extreme virtues of courage. Therefore, According to Aristotle, humans should strive to live well by letting their actions be governed by moderate virtues. He further stated that this way of life can be achieved by choosing the right things in life at the right time and place. The ethical theories associated with the modern era include consequentialism and deontology. Consequentialism is made up of moral theories that propose that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by the outcome or the consequences of the act (Darwall, 2003). Thus, from the perspective of a consequentialist, a morally right act is one that results in a positive or good outcome. Consequentialist theories put a lot of weight on outcomes when assessing the rightness or wrongness of actions. Generally, according to consequentialists, consequences always outweigh all other considerations when determining right and wrong. Most of the consequentialist theories generally address issues like consequences considered as good, the main beneficiaries of moral actions, the mode or judging consequences, and who is to judge them. Consequentialism can be categorized according to the consequences that matter most. For example, hedonistic utilitarianists propose that good or the right actions are those that result in increments of pleasure, and the best actions are those that result in the most pleasure. The other category is that of eudaimonic consequentialism, who believe that the right action is one that ultimately aims at making an individual achieve a flourishing and full life (Darwall, 2003). Similarly, the consequence that matters most to aesthetic consequentialists is beauty and there are numerous other consequentialist theories that regard different things to be of uttermost importance. Deontologists differ from consequentialists in that, unlike consequentialists who examine the consequences when seeking to determine the rights and wrongs, deontologists examine the virtue of the act. Thus, according to deontologists, an act can be right even if it results in negative or bad consequences. Immanuel Kant is among the individuals who adopted the deontology when coming up with theories addressing righteousness and wrongness (Brooks & Dunn, 2009). Kant argues that individuals must act according to their duties if their actions are to be considered right and also that it is the motives of the individual carrying out the act that are the primary determinants of the rightness or wrongness of their actions. Postmodern ethics however approaches this issue from a different perspective. According to postmodernists, the world is full of rationality and if one is to determine the rightness or wrongness of an action, the individual would first have to study the complex situations surrounding the action. Thus, according to postmodernism, an idea cannot be simply regarded as right or wrong and there are no moral absolutes. For instance, if one were to find oneself in the Second World War, hiding a Jew in his or her house and a Nazi solder knocks on the individual’s door and asks the individual if he or she has any Jews in his or her house, would it be right or wrong to tell the truth knowing that his or her answer will determine if the Jew lives or not? Such an issue presents a complex moral dilemma given that it is wrong to tell a lie about the Jew being in the house but at the ame time, it is still wrong to let an innocent individual be killed when it can be prevented. For a long time now, individuals have utilized dilemmas like the one stated above to argue that there are no moral absolutes. The above situation is an example that one can use to argue that lying is not always wrong and that in such complex dilemmas, the right thing to do is determined by the act that results in a greater good. Most individuals in the world today embrace reality and argue that ethics is relative to individuals, time and the culture of the individuals. It is with such arguments that the world today is presented with numerous disagreements about issues like abortion, the death sentence, pre-marital sex and gay rights, to mention but a few. Most individuals have different views when it comes to interpreting the rightness or wrongness of some controversial issues such as the above mentioned. What is truth? The definition of truth may be simple but its interpretation is complex and just like the question of what is right and wrong, varies from individual to individual. A basic definition of truth is that it is that which is agrees with reality, actuality or simply, a fact (Rappaport, 1999). One way to approach the definition of truth is by considering that all the perspectives of approaching truth are equally valid and that truth is relative to an individual. This perspective that bases truth on realism is however faulty given the contradictions surrounding relativity. For instance, what is true to one person is not always true to another as shown by the contradiction between religious truths. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God and the Messiah; a view Muslims do not agree with. This is not to imply that there are no absolute truths. An example of a sentence of absolutely truth is that, ‘something cannot create itself. ’ Logically, the thing would first have to be present if it is to possess the ability to create and if it already exists, then how would it create itself? The above example is truth based on logic but there are truths that cannot be logically explained for instance, stating that an individual truly loves another. It can be very difficult to use the theories of logic to explain the individual’s feelings. From the above examples, it can be concluded that truth is that which obeys the rules of logic and reality, or any of the two. Realism, to a certain degree agrees with logic and truth and therefore presents the best approach towards the determination of truth. To adopt a relative perspective however, individuals must be ready to acknowledge that a statement regarded as being true by one individual may not be acceptable by another.

The Greatest Man That Ever Lived Essay - 733 Words

The Greatest Man that Ever Lived Everyone has a hero in their lives, someone who they look up to: someone very special. This person plays a very important role in your life. As a child, this person teaches you an array of life lessons that stick with you throughout your whole life, from learning how to walk to buying your first home, this special person guides you in all aspects of life. Throughout your journey in life, this idol’s experience and intelligence are the epitome of persona of which you desire as this mentor continues to bestow their wisdom. As life progresses, this is the person that you long to be at all your special events. The day that they are absent, you ache for their presence to share the occasion with; they are the†¦show more content†¦He tutored me throughout grade school, showing me how to overcome the most impervious problems that tend to multiply as you get older. It seemed as if my grandfather knew everything, and there was nothing that I couldn’t overcome with his gu idance. To me, he was the most knowledgeable man who ever walked the face of the earth. As I grew older, my grandfather played many roles in my life as a counselor, adviser, and continued to be a mentor to me. Whenever I had a problem or needed someone to talk to, my grandfather would be the first person that came to mind. When I bought my first car, he gave me pointers on key deciding factors such as type of vehicle, fuel efficiency, capabilities, engine size, and four-wheel drive versus two-wheel drive. Whenever I had issues with girlfriends, my grandfather always knew the right thing to say. I always relied on my grandfather for nearly everything. At my graduations and special events, he was the one that I wanted to be there the most to make him proud and see the joy in his face when he smiles at me. He showed me how to enjoy life, and how to deal with life’s complications. He is always there for me, even though he is no longer around. There comes a point in everyoneâ€⠄¢s lives that the person is no longer around. It is the completion of life, the end of a great book. Just like the anticipation of reading the end of the last chapter, craving for it to continue because you are so indulged inShow MoreRelated2020: A Not-So-Spacey Odyssey Essay1158 Words   |  5 Pages2020 – A Not-So-Spacey Odyssey The year is 2020 and mankind is reeling from global war. No continent has escaped the devastating effects as man has, in effect, turned on himself and effected his own destruction. Homes on every street house the ill and dying. Youths struggle to survive and turn ever more to the government for aid and assistance. The cycle repeats itself until the inevitable. One day, society must implode, collapse on itself. 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