fundamental cause theory was created to account for persistent health disparities by SES
I wonder how this would look like if there was universal healthcare? For example, if no matter the SES of a certain class or group, everyone had universal health care and could have the same benefits as everyone else. Would SES be a considering factor still or would it be disregarded as everyone would have healthcare?
those with less education have the shortest LE
With higher education people are more knowledgeable of what resources are available to them and how to obtain them. It's a great factor that also has a huge impact on health, but normally people tend to associate poor health with low SES than look at it from an education standpoint. The less education a person may have can cause them to miss great opportunities and resources that can be determental to their health.
refer to underlying social conditions such as socioeconomic status (SES), social inequality, neighborhood characteristics, exposure to stressful life events, and access to supportive social networks.
I think this is a great point. In the US, it's very common for money to be a very distinguishing factor in a persons health and overall quality of life. Living in a poor neighborhood or from a low income class can lead to more negative declines in a persons well-being and can determine how much healthcare assistance they may get but also have within their neighborhood.
In every society, these factors make some groups more likely to develop specific diseases.
Yes! I love that the chapter mentioned the other factors that come into play when a disease is spreading or has developed. It's not just on the health and hygiene of a person but also what their environment looks like that can cause a great effect on the development of and spread of diseases.
two-thirds of emerging pathogens come from other animals.
I think most people, like me, don't often realize that some diseases to come from animals and it's not just humans. Same with foods and other items that can cause diseases. For example, when COVID-19, I remember news was spread that it started because a person in China had eaten a bat or something along those lines. It just goes to show that when people think about diseases, they don't normally realize it can come from other factors outside of a human being, like animals.
A massive shift in the structure of insurance plans occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s
The aftermath of COVID-19 caused inflation to happen with many goods and services. Im sure it also affected insurance plans. How would a reform of health care act on or address the constant inflation and higher probability of low income for many families to make health care affordable? It looks like an issue that continues without an end unless inflation is stopped. But how would inflation stop? Until we "catch up" from what the economy lost during COVID-19?
don’t tell the whole story.
I agree with this portion of the text. Whenever someone heard a person died because of COVID-19, they simply thought it was because of the disease itself. However, people didn't normally take other factors into account like the financial need to provide care or receive care, underlying health issues of the person that COVID-19 simply made worse, or even the lack of health care within ones residential area. It wasn't simply because of COVID-19. I wonder what the other common health issue was for those who had COVID-19 and passed away?