How do we define poor health?
Poor health includes poor nutrition, poor water quality, disease occurrence, lack of health education…
How do we define poverty?
Poverty is classified into two types - absolute poverty and relative poverty.
Absolute poverty is, in part, about lacking access to necessities and standard services. It is also about missing opportunities to education and jobs. People would think about surviving first, rather than living under this condition.
Relative poverty describes a situation where people living below average or receiving lower income than others in a particular region. As the term 'relative' shows, this arises when comparison is involved.
In this case, we are discussing about how absolute poverty and poor health are interconnected.
How does poverty affect health conditions?
It constrains choices - Money helps make life easier.
It increases the risk of getting diseases. Poor hygiene and water quality allow pathogens and bacteria to transmit.
It raises the severity of diseases. Poor people cannot afford payments, and as a result, they would miss the best time for treatment.
It has psychosocial effects. e.g: stress, comparison, depression
Poor people are more likely to adopt unhealthy behaviours, such as drinking and smoking, for various reasons. They help release their stress through these activities, which are often addictive.
How does poor health affect poverty?
On the other way round, poor health can also result in poverty.
Disease sufferers may seek for help in the form of surgeries, medicines or other therapies from health organisations. This might cost them a lot of money, especially when chronic, rare and severe diseases occur is the case.
Moreover, it can become a vicious circle, which makes the situation a lot worse.
What are the other factors influencing health?
The life expectancy gap between the most and least developed areas of UK is 19 years. Money is just a part of the picture.
Other factors include mood, geographical location family, relationships…
Overall, poverty and poor health do have impact on each other. Having said that, they are not considered as absolute factors.
References:
