Vulnerable Populations & Nursing: Health Equity

Week 4: Chapter 39: Vulnerable Populations and Nursing: Vulnerability as a Health Equity Concern (pp. 1187-1206) 1. I can differentiate between equality and equity - Equality: means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities Equity: recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome 2. I can explain how social position influences vulnerability to poor health. - - Social positioning is the role you're born into, such as your ethnicity, gender, age, race, socioeconomic status etc. This influences vulnerability to poor health because you can be on the lower end of the spectrum such as poor and unable to have as much food, or just have lower quality of life than others and it affects your health? Medical vulnerabilities (multiple health problems, preexisting disabilities, or underlying chronic illnesses that may exacerbate the impact of hospitalization on health and/or their ability to recover), age, gender, ethnicity/race, occupational demands, living conditions (such as poverty, unsafe and inadequate housing, and inadequate food), stigma, discrimination, previous trauma, violence, or abuse can influence vulnerability to poor health 3. I can explain what intersectionality is. - Intersectionality: an approach focusing on the multiple social circumstances that taken together shape the lives of individuals and thereby their chances to be healthy It refers to an approach or lens that recognizes that health is shaped by a multidimensional overlapping of factors such as race, class, income, education, age, ability, sexual orientation, immigration status, ethnicity, indigeneity, and geography 4. I can explain what is meant by the social determinants of health, and give examples. - Economic stability Neighbourhood and physical environment Education Food Community, safety, and social context Health care system Access to material factors, such as housing, income, social support, employment, and education, and access to health care Non-material determinants, such as having control over one’s life, having a safe and supportive network of friends and family, respect, power, and decision making. 5. I can define implicit bias and systemic bias and discuss how bias influences the health of an individual and/or community - Implicit bias: refers to the unconscious or automatic attitudes, stereotypes, and prejudices that individuals hold towards certain groups, even when they may consciously hold different, non-prejudiced beliefs (ingrained subconsciously) Systemic bias: sometimes referred to as systemic racism when it pertains to race, refers to the policies, practices, and structures within a society or institution that perpetuate discrimination, inequality, and bias against certain groups (ingrained systemically) 6. I can differentiate between upstream and downstream actions for health. - - Upstream actions for health: “strategies that dismantle & change the fundamental social & economic systems (structural determinants of health) that distribute the root causes of health inequities including wealth, power, and opportunities” These changes generally happen at the provincial, territorial, national, and international levels. Downstream actions for health: “strategies that seek to address immediate needs & mitigate the negative impacts of disadvantage on health at an individual or community level through the availability of health & social services.”· - These changes generally occur at the service or access-to-service level. Downstream strategies are about changing the effects of the causes