Class Effect on Health

The AMS Review article made me giggle. Of course health is affected by social class—not by the label of the class itself, but because of the characteristics of individuals within the class. I have a HUGE issue with the impact of this on public health, policies, and government’s spending of healthcare dollars. My argument is best explained and understood through an example:

1. Patient on Medicaid= low-class, poverty, disabled, etc.
Social class traits:

• Poor parents
• Bad home life growing up
• Lack of values and respect (for self and others)
• Less education
• low income
  

2. Poor health
Causes related to social class:

• Not taught how to properly care for self
• Restricted access to healthcare (money, knowledge)
• Unhealthy lifestyle
  

3. Receive state medical benefits

• Abuse healthcare system
• Don’t follow through with medical orders and treatments
• Drug aversion
• Treating, not preventing
  

4. Consequences of social class traits:

• Young, multiple, single-parent pregnancies
• Receive and spend more healthcare dollars
• Children born into same social class
  

5. Cycle continues

Fault for this vicious, class effect on health is multi-factorial. We can blame the patients themselves for not giving a damn, the education system for lack of education and enforcement, government for providing insurance coverage to the welfare mommy’s 5th child instead of mandating and paying for birth control. Whatever the cause, it doesn’t matter, because we will never eliminate health inequality between social classes until there are radical changes in our healthcare system and approach to care.