HSBH 1006-W4 the class origins of health inquality

HSBH 1006-W4 the class origins of health inquality

1. 1、 introducing class

   • class tends to focus on lifestyle differences and consumption patterns, particularly regarding fashion, as a social maker of status.
   • upper class-who own and/or manage economic resources, such as raw materials, technology, and workplaces, and employ others to create profit for them. middle class-a diverse group of people who possess some form of qualification and skill that allows them to attract higher wages and better working conditions. working class-consists of unskilled manual and non-manual (blue- and white-collar) workers who gain employment solely by selling their labour power.
   • the differences between 'class' and 'socio-economic status'(SES)
   • all class models have  'grey areas'.

2. 2、class inequality in Australia

   • one of the key indicators of class inequality is the distribution of wealth in a country.
   • upper class or ruling class?
   • intersecting structures of inequality and the 'death of class'

3. 3、class and health inequlity

   • poor have the highest rates of illness and shortest life expectancy.

4. 4、Explaining health inequlity

   • artefact explanations
     • are artificial and the result of statistical anomalies or the inability to measure social phenomena accurately.
   • natural/social selection explanations
     • people's health disadvantage (for example, disability) causes social disadvantage such as poverty.
   • cultural/behavioral explanantion
     • a focus on changing the behaviour of  individuals assumes they exist in a social vacuum, ignoring the social context, social relations, and social processes that affect their lives.
   • materialist/structural explanations
     • concern the role of social,  economic, and political factors in determining the social distribution of health and illness.
   • bringing class analysis back in: the structure-agency debate and health behaviour
   • psycho-social/social capital explanations of the social gradient of health

5. 5、conclusion: towards health equity or health equality?