Poverty and its implications on health and well-being


Poverty is one of the issues in this world that demands immediate attention. Poverty is very evident in less developed nations particularly in Asia and Africa. According to  (1998) poverty is the state wherein an individual or a community is underprivileged and do not have the necessary requirements for a minimum approved standard of life. United Kingdom is considered one of the developed nations in this world. The nation has a stabilised economy and the government are able to provide the basic necessities for its people. But despite of that fact, poverty exists in the United Kingdom. However, the scope and extent of poverty in the UK is different from less developed nations. In the United Kingdom, individuals or families that live in a household income that is below 60 per cent are considered impoverished. According to  (2007) 1 in 4 people living in the United Kingdom is in poverty. Moreover, Oxfam discussed that on a recent survey the forms of poverty in which the people in the United Kingdom is currently experiencing are;


-approximately 6.5 million adults in the United Kingdom do not have the appropriate clothing because of the lack of money.


-more than 10.5 million individuals are financially insecure in which these people cannot afford to save money, obtain insurance for their house, or even spend on some things.


-approximately 9.5 million people in the United Kingdom cannot afford the proper housing wherein it has the basic necessities such as heating.


- (2000) found out that 18 per cent of children in the United Kingdom does not have two or more items that most of the population says are basic necessities like clothing and toys.


-The Department of Work and Pensions identified that one in five non-working families are unable to have the financial means to buy the basic food items in the year 2000.


            Poverty affects all people regardless of race, religious and cultural background, however the most affected will be the children. According to  (1995) children that came from impoverished households are most likely to die as a child or a baby and have a low expectancy in life. In addition these children have the biggest probability of acquiring bad health, unemployment and lower chances of obtaining a good education. Poverty is indeed a huge and serious problem that governments and people from all walks of life must address immediately. According to  (2007) there are two types of poverty and these are the Individual and Aggregate Poverty.


Individual Poverty- poverty is defined through individual conditions and features of poor people such as the amount of education obtained, health, work orientation and discrimination.


Aggregate Poverty- it is divided into two forms of poverty and these are the case and the generic.


            Case Poverty- according to case poverty theory, aggregate poverty is the summation of individual poverty.


            Generic Poverty- in this type of aggregate poverty, the general and economic problems of the nation is considered the main cause of poverty like inadequate employment opportunities, problems in the macro economy and macro policies of the nation and low income of the country. 


According to  (2007) in the United Kingdom poverty is defined as absolute poverty, relative poverty and social exclusion. Absolute poverty is the absence of enough resources in order to keep the soul and body together. Relative poverty, on the other hand, is concerned with the state of inexistence of the necessities necessary to partake fully in the standard way of living. And social exclusion is the occurrence of interlinked problems such as low incomes, unemployment, bad health and poor housing. In order to address the roots of the problem, the causes of poverty must first be identified. The following are the causes of poverty in the United Kingdom:


Disability- according to  (2007) 30% of disabled working adults live in poverty, and the poverty rate for disabled adults in the workforce is increasing over the past years. According to the  (2007) poverty is both the cause and consequence of disability because majority of individuals that have disabilities affect their chances of entering school, going to the workforce and participating in the daily activities of normal people. According to the  (2007) poverty and disability has a two way relationship particularly among the children in the United Kingdom. The report of the institute predicts that by the year 2020 majority of people in the UK aged 50 and above will have long-term health problems or will be disabled. The report also stated that poverty during childhood could have an impact in the chances of the child; in addition, more homes that have a disabled family member are in poverty compare to households that do not have a disabled family member. In the United Kingdom 29 per cent of homes that have one or more disabled family member lived in poverty compare to 21 per cent of homes that do not have disabled family member. Disabilities could come in various forms it could be physical or mental. And disabilities have huge implications on the health and well-being of a person.


 Individuals with disabilities have the probability of using mental health services according to the  (2004) because of the higher rates of unemployment and poverty. Compare to normal individuals people with disabilities are usually overlooked by the legislators and a number of them have reported difficulty in obtaining health services due to their impairment. The government of the United Kingdom created the Disability Discrimination Act in order to address the needs of disabled citizens. However, according to  (2004) there are still a number of disabled individuals that reported having a hard time getting the services because the staff does not recognize the need of the service in association with physical impairment, some workers still have a negative attitude towards disability, and the hospitals lack the appropriate personnel, equipment, and facilities.


In order to address the issues regarding problems on health and disabled individuals  (2004) determined various interventions in order to support individuals that have mental and physical impairments and these are:


-the mental health services in UK hospitals must recognise that there are some users that have physical disabilities that need their services, and access to the services and adherence to the Disability Discrimination Act must be checked across all hospitals.


-emphasis must be given to answers the needs of individuals that have physical impairments.


-treatments must be made accessible to individuals with disabilities.


-The procedures of drug prescription and medication must be reviewed in order to be aware in the effects on patients with physical disabilities.


Unemployment-  (2004) discussed that relative poverty in the United Kingdom have increased since 1979 due to the increasing rate of unemployment and increasing dispersion of earnings and benefits indexed to prices of commodities not on wages. The fundamental economic force has changes the demand against the unskilled workers which have caused low-skilled labour market to weaken and later on unemployment among low-skilled workers.  In addition, in the study of , , and  (1995) a number of studies have pointed out that there is a positive association between unemployment rates and mortality rates. Studies have determined that there are higher rates of death because of cardiovascular diseases and suicide on unemployed individuals. Moreover, unemployed individuals are most likely to take medications, be admitted to hospitals and visit physicians. And according to  and  (1998) the association of unemployment and health is very complicates and the results differ from population groups, the evidence is very consistent that unemployment is related to negative outcomes on health. Longitudinal studies have revealed that unemployment has a direct effect on the health of an individual.


Poor parents- , , and  (1999) pointed out that over the last 30 years child poverty have risen in Great Britain, the employment position of the parents of the children are seen as huge factors in poverty with over half of the poor children between the years 1995-1996 live in homes wherein no adults work. Moreover, children who have poor parents attain less education, and poverty is passed from one generation to another wherein children that have unemployed parents have the probability of being unemployed in the near future. According to  (2003) poverty and the culture surrounding it has a negative impact on the development and health of children. Wood discussed that there are multiple risk factors that come together in impoverished families which increases the risk of children acquiring chronic health problems, failure in school, teen pregnancy and many more.


            ,  and  (2006) discussed health inequalities in the United Kingdom.  The authors discussed that importance of health in discussing poverty and social exclusions lies in the scope wherein the disadvantaged individuals obtain and suffer worse health conditions than others. The evidence regarding the association of poverty to health inequalities is extensive. Otherwise stated, the risk of getting and suffering in a specific health problem is bigger to individuals that came from low income households than others.


            In addition, in the study of  and  (1996) wherein the poverty rate of United Kingdom were compared to nineteen countries the study have revealed that the overall pre-transfer poverty rate of the United Kingdom is the fifth highest among 20 countries and is comparatively high among single parents and families with children. Social security benefits and direct taxes have leaved United Kingdom with the third highest poverty rate. In the United Kingdom, single parents, elderly and households with children have relatively high incidence of poverty. The authors concluded that direct taxes and social security benefits did not help reduce poverty and inequality in the United Kingdom but instead those two have contributed to the increase in inequality, moreover, the governments social and fiscal policies have failed to protect the poor people against international competition and market forces.


            Even though, inequalities in health are seen everywhere in the United Kingdom, it differs a lot in terms of size and scope. The smallest inequality is approximately third and a half higher while the greatest inequality has a ratio of three is to one like in the case pf young adult suicides.


            The extensive effect of poverty on health is very apparent regardless on the way poverty is measured. According to  (2007) researchers have identified credible pathways of poverty which include;



  • Chronic loss and limited access to basic necessities such as food, shelter and education.

  • Exposure to toxic chemicals within the environment.

  • Physical threats to health.

  • Jobs that is not safe and demanding.

  • Chronic psychological stress.


In addition, in giving emphasis on the profound effects of poverty on health, it is important not to overlook other aspects such as racial discrimination. Studies have shown that racism has impacts on depression and other illnesses. Another is the high degree of income inequality could contribute to the poor health of individuals living in poverty.


            The individuals that are usually affected by poverty are the children and the adolescents. According to  (2007) a study from the United Nations have identified that children in the United Kingdom suffer greatly from poverty, worse relationship with parents, and are more exposed to drug and alcohol use, and unsafe sex compare to developed nations in the world.  (2003) identified the consequences on the health of children and youth that are living in poverty and these are:


Oral Health- a number of studies has revealed that oral health could be a contributory factor to chronic diseases such as heart disease. The dental health of a child reflects the oral health of the mother and it is therefore recommended that oral care must be treated within the context of family. In order to help curb the problems in oral health among children and adults in low income families, it must be accessible to them through the government. Unhealthy gums and teeth are associated with poor concentration, low self esteem, and behavioural problems in school among children and adolescents and fewer employment opportunities for adults. Individuals that are in poverty usually do not have access to oral health care which could lead to poor performance in work and school, in order to address this problem the government must include oral health in the basic health services given to the public.


Physical Health- poverty has a negative effect on the short-term and long-term chances of children. Most children that live in poverty are born prematurely which could lead to serious health problems in the future or even death. There is an association between poverty and low birth weight and most of the mothers came from low income families and have limited access to health services such as prenatal check-ups. Moreover, children that are in poverty are most likely exposed to harmful environments. Impoverished children have higher risks of vision, hearing and speech impairment as well as delay in the cognitive development. In addition, abuse and physical injuries are more prevalent in individuals that are in poverty which has a negative impact on the personal health of the children.


Emotional and Mental Health- emotional health is closely associated with the physical, spiritual and mental well being of an individual. The consequences of poverty on the health of children are numerous and cannot be categorised in one group. Factors such as inadequate housing, unemployment, and decreased access to basic services such as healthcare and education overlap with one another and have a negative impact on an individual. Individuals, particularly children and young people that live in low income households have the biggest probability of having low self-esteem and families living in poverty will be more prone to depression and frustrations. And because of inadequate access of educational and health services of children and youth living in poverty they are mostly at risk of experiencing self-doubt, low self-esteem, frustration, anger, hopelessness, depression and even suicide.


Consequences on Short and Long Term Health- the short and long-term health effects on individuals specifically children living in poverty is very overwhelming. The government must develop preventive and holistic interventions to this sector of the society in order to curb the problems related to poverty. Poverty is related to a number of problems and issues in the society such as food insecurity, poor housing, inaccessible health services, reduced access to education and exposure to stress. All of these could greatly affect the development and behaviour of children and young people. Children and youth that grew up in impoverished households are most likely be unemployed in the near future and will be caught in the cycle of poverty.


            In order to reduce poverty in the United Kingdom an extensive approach and intervention must be made and with the help of policies and legislation by the government. Affordable housing for households in low incomes must be provided; and the families must have access to medical services such as dental and health services.


            Poverty is a social, economic and political problem that must be addressed by the government immediately. Providing better access to health and education must be made since lack of education and poor health conditions are the reasons why there are individuals living in poverty.


 


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