Education as a key pathway to health!!!!
Racism is one of the significant causes of inequality in health, and we can see in the statistics how skin color affects the type of medical attention we receive.
*Racial and ethnic health inequities don't just reflect income. More African American, Native American, Latino, and Pacific Islanders are in poor or fair health than whites at practically every income level.
* Rates of illness for U.S. adults in their 30s and 40s with low income and lower education are comparable to those of affluent adults in their 60s and 70s.
Estrada argues, "The American condition necessitates the urgent dismantling of the racist structure and institutions in order to advance a more equitable society. That's the only hope for achieving health equity, as it cannot be thought of in isolation from the economic and sociological constraints that breed inequity." (Estrada-Portales,2020)
By attacking racism, we can achieve a better health system, thus achieving equality. And what is the best way to confront this social problem? Though the EDUCATION!!!!!!
We have to express ourselves, speak, and create movements because communication is key to making known that if there is a problem and that we want a solution for it. Another important role that communication plays is that it helps us educate disadvantaged communities about the resources.
Estrada explains, "One might be inclined to think that the importance of communicating this context in pursuit of health equity cannot be overstated. But it most certainly can. As the pandemic has demonstrated – or thrown in our faces – the needed overhaul goes well beyond healthcare." (Estrada-Portales,2020)
II. Social Vulnerability
First, we need to understand what vulnerability factors are!!!!!
Social Vulnerability refers to the resilience of communities (the ability to survive and thrive) when confronted by external stresses on human health, stresses such as natural or human-caused disasters, or disease outbreaks. Reducing social vulnerability can decrease both human suffering and economic loss. [cleared content from svi.cdc.gov]
Inequality in education leads to a low socioeconomic status, which puts people in a state of vulnerability.
According nber.org, that the more educated report having lower morbidity from the most common acute and chronic diseases (heart condition, stroke hypertension, cholesterol, emphysema, diabetes, asthma attacks, ulcer). More educated people are less likely to be hypertensive or to suffer from emphysema or diabetes. Physical and mental functioning is also better for the better educated. The better educated are substantially less likely to report that they are in poor health and less likely to report anxiety or depression. Finally, better-educated people report spending fewer days in bed or not at work because of disease, and they have fewer functional limitations.
Look at this!!!!!!!!
The United States is not distributing resources equitably, and not everyone has access to medical care, making more vulnerable communities.
Maryland social vulnerability index
In my perspective, socioeconomic vulnerability plays a vital role in the community since it puts many citizens at a disadvantage in not having access to basic resources.
Important facts!!!!!!
*THE U.S. AND THE WORLD
✔ For all the rich countries for which there is data, the U.S. has:
· the highest infant mortality rate
· the highest homicide rate
· the highest teenage birth rate
· the highest incarceration rate (we house one fourth of the world's prisoners)
· the highest child poverty
· the highest child injury death rate
· the greatest gap between high and low mortality rates within a country
· the highest number of people living alone
· the highest poverty rate
· the most hours worked (except for New Zealand)
· the smallest middle class
· the largest wealth gap between the rich and the rest of the population
· the lowest voter turnout
*unnaturalcauses.org
If we all had access to a good education and inequality in education did not exist, we could have access to better resources, while an educated person increases their income, a better work environment, access to health insurance, better nutrition, and higher life expectations, all this helps to the vulnerability index to go down.
"Research shows that the social circumstances in which we are born, live and work—our jobs, schools, built space, transportation, even the quality of civic life—get under the skin, influencing our behaviors, access to resources, chronic stress levels and ultimately increasing or decreasing our chances for health." (unnaturalcauses.org )
The advantage of knowing which community is vulnerable helps us to seek solutions. when we see that there is inequality in education and that resources are not distributed equitably, in the long run, all this will affect people's health, their socioeconomic level, and that It will cost much more investment in health for the government, we will see that it is a call for attention for all of us, both citizens and politicians.
What can we do to avoid these social injustices?
This is not a one-person job, this is a social movement that has to be created in order to change the laws and have a better distribution of resources in the schools, you can start with the PTAs in the schools, create petitions, collect signatures and take them to the board of education, if it does not work, bring them up and so on until our voices are heard.
Equality in health can be achieved by having access to medicines and health care at low cost for all American citizens. We can achieve all this through communication because it is important not only to speak but also to spread it through the media and social networks to become aware of how socioeconomic status can affect.
What communicative action do I recommend?
Encourage citizens to become involved in their communities and schools' decision-making process to create positive social change and long-term reforms. We need more leaders in the communities in schools.
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FACT SHEET
Low-skilled adults are:
2xmore likely to be unemployed 65% of all jobs in 2020 will require some level of
3x as likely to be in poverty postsecondary education.
4x as likely to be in poor health
8x as likely to be incarcerated
Rates of major circulatory diseases, diabetes, liver disease, and several psychological symptoms (sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness) show higher rates among adults with lower educational attainment.
Education is an important predictor of health because it both shapes and reflects so many other factors that affect people's life chances. In fact, many public health advocates believe investing in education is the single most effective intervention we can make to improve health outcomes and tackle inequities. One study estimated eliminating educational inequities would have saved eight times as many lives as were saved by medical advances between 1996-2002
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Let's do something!!!!!!!
We can start with an action that seems small but can make a big difference. We can create PTA with more cultural diversity members, which can advocates for each minority.
"The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a partnership between parents and educators who strive to enhance student learning and enrich the students' lives within the school. It is also a forum for parents to obtain knowledge and voice their opinions about what is happening in their school."
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