Understanding the Health Inequalities (Essay Sample)

Health Inequalities
Name
Institution
Health Inequalities
Health inequalities can be defined as unfair and avoidable differences in an individual's health across the globe. In the US, health inequality is used to describe racial disparities in healthcare. Health inequalities go against various principles of social justice since they are preventable. Disparities in health do not occur by chance or haphazardly. However, they are socially determined by conditions and other circumstances that an individual cannot control. Health bias issues will later affect people and limit them from accessing healthy lives or even living longer. In a nutshell, the existence of health inequalities implies the right of every individual to obtain an attainable mental and physical health is not equally enjoyed across the globe (Reid, 2017). The primary purposes of this essay are to address the health inequalities that exist in the social class.
Firstly, it has been revealed that people in the lower class are disadvantaged from accessing health facilities. Families that live in extreme poverty lack the financial power to cater to the medical bills, both for themselves and the kids as well. In low-income families, funds are inadequate to acquire proper diet and nourishment. There exists health inequality since the rich and the middle-class owners access all the health facilities at any bill. The disparities make the service providers in these facilities to set their prices higher to the extent that the lower class occupants cannot afford. The government should reduce this inequality since it violates the principle of social justice (Reid, 2017). The government should set fund initiatives that will cater to the health of the poor and marginalized people in society. Through such efforts, the inequality gap will be reduced at all levels, and social justice will be upheld.
Secondly, health inequality is also revealed regarding an individual's purchasing power. It is a fact that social capital usually plays a vital role in an individual's health and the entire society as well. According to research, those individuals who have exceptional access to a high percentage of resources have an added advantage in maintaining a healthy life (Kirsch et al., 2019).The study also links access to more resources to living longer. Therefore, segregating individuals based on the level of resources they have has a significant impact on the quality of health services they will get. Health biasness based on resources can be combated by a social intervention that will augment the health sectors by ensuring the community has the resources necessary to access the social funds. For instance, if more death is as a result of cancer, the government may provide free treatment to the citizen since it is expensive therapy and the poor cannot afford.
Thirdly, there is evidence that approximately 16,030 children die before celebrating their 5th birthday (Kirsch et al., 2019). Most of these deaths are a result of the illness that emanates from poor diet and poor living conditions. Most of the ailments that affect the children are malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, and TB. Children from rural areas and more impoverished backgrounds are mostly affected by such diseases as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, and TB (Hodgetts and Stolte, 2017). Since the parents of these children do not afford the treatment bill, the children die before the age of five. To prevent child mortality, the state should provide immunization and free checkups for young children and provide proper living conditions. For example, the health sector should issue mosquito nets that will prevent the mothers and their children from malaria infections.