MEASURES OF HEALTH

INEQUALITIES
 Group Members
● TEMWANI ZIMBA 39370
● AQUILA CHILANGA 39177
● JANE KASASHI CHIKOLE 39382
● ISAAC LUNGU 39185
● MUAZZAM ILYAS PATEL 39198
● MUSONDA LUMBWE 38052
● NICOLETTE ZHJWAWO 39192
● NIZA MTONGA 39182
● OLIPAH NTALASHA 39204
● PENIAS ZULU 39205
● RENATE NKHATA 38221
● RUTH NKALAMJ 39210
● MOGAWA MOSIBUDI 38194
WHAT ARE HEALTH INEQUALITIES
Systemic, avoidable and unjust difference in health and wellbeing between different groups of
people.
Measures of Health Inequalities:
1.Ethnicity and Race
● Ethnicity refers to the identification of population
groups based on social cultural and historic variations,
ethnic groups are characterised by organized structural
boundaries such as language, religion and country of
origin.
● race is defined as a category of humankind that shares
certain distinctive physical traits.
● A number of people from minority ethnic groups
experience social deprivation, poverty and
unemployment than the major population.
● Minorities have lowers rates of insurance coverage or
no insurance at all which causes less access to health
care
● Ethnic groups who speak a language other than english
as a primary language increase the risk of having a
communication or language barrier.
 Cont..

Racial prejudice and racism are other components of ethnicity that increases the susceptibility of
ethnic minorities to poor health. Racism can have negative effects on one's mental health and
increases the risk of anxiety disorders and depression.

Racial prejudice can be found in the health sector for instance racism can lead doctors to neglect
disbelieve or actively discriminate against patients

Health inequity examples in the health sector include: lower life expectancy, high blood pressure,
lower rates of influenza (flu) vaccination, strain on mental health, pain treatment, emergency care,
pregnancy, chronic illness, schizophrenia and addiction.
2. Area Deprivation
The deprivation profiles show health inequalities
as measured by the deprivation of the relevant
area. There are a wide range of measures
including:

● child poverty
● life expectancy
● teenage pregnancy
● out-of-work benefits
● all-cause mortality amongst 15-44 year
olds
● young people not in education,
employment or training.
 3. Gender
is measured in three aspects:
● Human development
-reproductive health,
measured by maternal
mortality ratio and
adolescent birth rates.
●
Cont…

● Empowerment-measured by proportion of
parliamentary seats occupied by females and
proportion of adult females and males aged 25
years and older with at least some secondary
education.
● Economic status-expressed as labour market
participation and measured by labour force
participation rate of female and male populations
aged 15 years and older.
4.Social class
Social class refers to the the
grouping of individuals in a stratified
hierarchy based on wealth, income,
education, occupation, and social
network. One’s position in the social
class hierarchy may impact, for.
example, health, family life,
education, religious affiliation,
political participation
 Cont...
A person’s social class has a significant impact on their physical health,
their ability to receive adequate medical care and nutrition, and their life
expectancy

Individuals of lower socioeconomic status have lower levels of overall

health, less insurance coverage, and less access to adequate healthcare
than those of higher social class.

Social determinants of health are the economic and social conditions that
influence individual and group differences in health status.
5. Employment status
Increasing the quality and
quantity of work can help reduce
health inequalities.
• Increase the wages of
low-paid workers
• Increase the availability of
work
• Support people with health
and social issues into work
 6. Educational Attainment
How can education affect health?

● Four more years of schooling reduces mortality rates by 16 per cent – equivalent to the life-expectancy gap between
men and women – and reduces risks of heart disease and diabetes.
● Education typically leads to better jobs, more money and many other benefits, including better health insurance,
which leads to better access to quality health care. Higher earnings also allow workers to afford homes in safer
neighborhoods as well as healthier diets.
● Better education for parents improves health outcomes for their offspring.
● Adults with higher levels of education are less likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking and
are more likely to have healthy behaviors related to diet and exercise.
 References
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/improving-publics-
health/healthy-schools-and-pupils

http://www.healthscotland.scot/health-inequalities/measu
ring-health-inequalities#:~:text=The%20simplest%20measu
re%20of%20health,the%20gap%20in%20health%20outcom
es.
THANK YOU 😊