Discrimination in Health Care Essay

How Gender Discrimination, age, and sexual orientation is Relevant to Health and Social Care and in society.

Description

The aim of this reflective assessment through the application of the Gibbs models (1998) is to highlight how the practice of inequality and discrimination by gender, age, and sexual orientation is relevant to health and social care settings and in society. Apart from these, the reflective assessment is also concerned with the issues highlighted in the lectures in the form of the Equality Act, diversity, human rights, and discrimination within the social situation. The reflection also outlines the method through which this model would be assisting me in better understanding the subject. I was really interested in gender discrimination precisely in women and sexual orientation discrimination exists intensively at work and in society.

One problem happened to my work. One of the staff refused to participate in the meeting for LGBT because she doesn’t like them. Another colleague has been refused to be on top of the management because of her gender. In the module, the lecture was talking about the Equality Act 2010. Under this legislation, no one can be discriminated against on the basis of his/her gender, sexual orientation, religion, belief, race, age, disability, and so on. Furthermore, diversity management is another critical issue under which it is necessary to be understood that individuals claim to be different in identities and this difference has to be respected since human beings do have different orientations from each other.

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One learning experience in the module is about the issue of an elderly violet Simpson of 84 years of age. The doctor discriminated against her because of her age. In this case, doctors shouldn’t discriminate. She has the right to life and treatment. She is supposed to be treated equally according to the Equality act 2010. An article about equality legislation and diversity says that patients shouldn’t be discriminated against for their sexual orientation because of their sexual orientation. Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGBT), and women often are discriminated against. For instance, low pay wages between men and women should not be done because all humans have the right to make the choice of what they want to be and follow human rights legislation. HealthCare professionals should avoid discrimination and promote equality, dignity, human rights, inclusion and understanding of diversity and respect article 2 of the UK human rights Act 1998 which outlines the right to life for everyone.

Feelings

I firstly felt very excited about the module to learn all the theories about the ethics and values of human beings such as equality, diversity, inclusion, human right, discrimination, and so forth, and always follow the code of conduct to be morally responsible when you are working in health and social care. I was confused by the theories, in the modules such as the issue and case study presented in each lecture to read and find the answer to resolve the problem and I was generally unaware of how much significant discrimination takes place in our society and in health and social care settings.

I was also sad to see in 21th-century steel have people discriminated against because of their choice also their gender, sexual orientation, and age. The other thing I was unsure about was the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Women steel discriminated against even in the UK in terms of wages. I thought this no longer takes place in this day and age. And I was unsure to advise my colleague when she refused the meeting of LGBT. I feel good for now as this original information made me ready and well prepared to look in a professional setting. However, more than all it made me conscious of the huge extent of work I needed to be totally equipped to enter in my job and vitally, to pay attention correctly and put the service users at the center of care. As a result, it has been essential to study and research supplementary on the topic of discrimination and bias.

Evaluation

Things went very well during the progress of the model. The lecture helped me to know well the difficulties linked to discrimination which can be by age, gender, sexual orientation, race, and bias in a professional and social context. The focus should have been situated, for example, on discrimination grounded on disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Because there are so many forms of discrimination such as bullying, labeling, infringement of legal and moral rights, and so on. Also, the lecture clarifies the theories that are against those inequalities in every case study such as the Equality Act 2010, diversity, and Human Rights Act 1998 moreover the issues about stigma, labeling, and stereotyping and how often mental health is stigmatized in society mostly in Black minority ethnics in the UK (BME). I was excited to know all theories and how to prevent a service user from getting discriminated against as a student in health and social care.

Health inequality still exists in the workplace, for example, women are discriminated against because of their gender. They are paid low wages than men and age discrimination takes place against older people even in health and social care settings. I begin to see from other angles because of all concepts which I got during the module to not put some people in priority over others as it is unfair because we are all human beings and the right to treat others with equality is a responsibility as we are coming from different ethnic groups, races, and genders. In my professional career, I will treat people with dignity and equality.

Analysis

I really understand that this module and its content helped to transform my viewpoint on discrimination and bias in a social and cultural setting. Moreover, underlining how people prefer to criticize others on the center of their own gender, sexual orientation, age, or religion, prepared me to be conscious of how much variety of discrimination can distress people’s lives also at work. The UNESCO defines gender as the roles and responsibilities of men and women which are created in our societies and families along with the characteristics, and aptitudes of women and men. (UNESCO.2003). It is essential to know how gender discrimination touches the reception of healthcare in certain parts of the World or within certain societies. As the ‘Baby Boom’ age group arises to be pensioned off, a matter of retreat security is becoming more pressing. In certain nations, it seems that giving up work safety remains vague for significant portions of the persons. According to a government report, 55 percent the USA of those aged 55–64 have little or no retreat savings (Rhee, N. & Boivie, L., 2015). Additionally, a government report declared that females’ vulnerability in marital and work patterns is putting females in retirement vulnerability, particularly those who have never been married or those who have divorced after a certain period (Angel, J.L. et al, 2014).

The higher poverty rate in older American women exceeds that of older American men by almost dual folds (11.6 percent versus 6.8 percent in 2013); the highest poverty rate amongst older Americans is compared to the Hispanic women who stay alone and the prevalence is at 45.4 percent in 2013 (US Administration on Aging, 2014). This gendered disadvantage is also present in the European Union. Consequently, 21.7 percent of women from 65 years and older were at risk of poverty in 2012, compared with 16.3 percent of men only (European Commission, 2014). Two essential developments happened lately, one of them is human progress which has been there to support the challenges that societies have been facing including gender issues.

Population aging is not only a problem for developing countries but also a problem in developed countries, and the majority of the global older population is female. Moreover, the number of those aged 60 is been predicted to reach two billion people by 2050, (UNFPA & Help Age International, 2012). There are 84 men for every 100 women aged 60 and over and only 61 men for every 100 women aged 80 and over. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), older women usually experience worse results compared to adult men. They are exposed to poverty to a greater extent than their male colleagues (ILO, Social Protection for Older Persons, 2014), and women experience increasing disadvantages.

Moreover, Women work in low-paid, part-time, or informal budget jobs, which are mostly interrupted for married women by pregnancy, childbirth, and caregiving work. Consequently, women are possible to be concerned about gender-based discrimination. They are less likely to have pensions; otherwise, their claim is lesser in worth than those of men due to women’s lesser earnings (ILO, Rights, Jobs and Social Security, 2008). Income inequity is especially noticeable in the United Kingdom and the United States. This movement is a by-product not only of globalization and technological competency but also of policy conclusions, starting in the 1980s, which encouraged allowed vocation and economic deregulation; releasing added supple state work ethics (Berg, J., 2015).

For instance, Bangladesh still has obstacles in terms of the distribution of resources between men and women the CEDAW committee has testified that they are the main obstacle to endorsing equal rights in the household. Moreover, the Committee records that reviewing all laws is a challenge for the Government as the adaptation because the laws require an arrangement of all spiritual leaders.in addition, polygamy is acceptable for men but not for women (CEDAW, 2015). According to the lecture, it could be argued that the public institutions of health and social care including the government worldwide should plan their resources in terms of equity such as fair distribution, support, treatments, and so on, according to each person's needs. Discrimination, as revealed, can take several forms, including that gender prejudice. According to M.F. Özbilgin. (2009), the majority of women have been excluded in society even in social care settings and in the social market, and have been forced to become entrepreneurs because they felt discriminated against or excluded from males in organizations.

Also, the salary was the most often to be testified form of discrimination. On the other hand, talking about gender problems in healthcare sharing as an issue exclusively linked to nations where women are considered socially incapable of men seems to be a terrible inaccuracy. (Al Ariss, 2009) .Michael Marmot’s opinion proposed that in this book 2004, status syndrome the main fundamental cause of health inequalities in society are differences in social status and it is better to apply Equality Act 2010 for all precisely in the UK. For example, executives or highly authoritative positions have a habit of being related to male numbers, then personal care is frequently defined as “women” work (Hunt and Batty, 2009). It is very bad to see how discrimination is taking place in our society. This can be outlined by the fact that women are often denied promotions at work due to discrimination.

In addition, LGBT group experience insufficient right of entry to health care, plus the inferior provision of health care facilities, compared to non-LGBT persons. Health bodies for instance doctors, nurses, and HCA refuse to touch LGBT patients, use harsh language and blame them for health issues the majority of them suffer abuse and discrimination which leads them to suicide and other health problems. (TRAVIS FRANKLIN CHANCE, 2013). This is not acceptable according to Human Rights Act 1998 article 14 which lays out the convention to secure persons from discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, color, language, religion, and so on. Furthermore, Nurses have the duty to recognize the role of the ethics board in balancing equitable treatment and control with patients’ rights to respect and dignity. (Losa Iglesias and Becerro de Bengoa Vallejo, 2014).According to the lecture slice, Human rights belong to everyone, all of the time not only to certain groups or at certain times. It was very good to know that more legislative personnel are against discrimination. The incident happened at work against people from LGBT groups and my colleagues should learn more about the notion of human rights laws and the Equality Act 2010. Also, Sigelman and Sigelman (1982) discovered that ageism was in point of fact a stronger power compare to sexism or racism in candidate choice, by means of older persons from all race and gender groups being at a handicap. For instance, discrimination in terms of professional women in their 20s compared to women in their 50s. (Collins, Dumas and Moyer, 2017)

The research found that over 65 percent of workers aged 50 and 64 they have been going through unfair given jobs no one else desired and they notice that they have been discriminated against because of their age. Not long ago AARP study found that sixty-four percent of workers ages forty-five to seventy-four said that have seen or experienced age discrimination (Cremint, K, M,2017). They shouldn’t discriminate against individuals because of their age, sexual orientation, or gender such as the elderly Violet Simpson of 84old, my colleague for an LGBT meeting and to promote the women in the organization is not acceptable.

Conclusion

This summary saying in the previous pages highlighted a sequence of relevant matters linked to gender, age, and sexual orientation connected to discrimination and the healthcare organization in society and globally. The situation has come to be clear that discrimination can take mostly two ways, firstly can relay to healthcare professions and the type of access available to women to satisfy healthcare needs on the ground. Secondly, who seems to be even extra distressing, mentions the authentic admission to suitable healthcare grounded on gender, age, and sexual orientation. I have known as well how discrimination in any form can lead individuals such as to suicide, low esteem, and so on.

I have learned more about the issues of discrimination by age, gender; sexual orientation and how to improve such inequality precisely in the UK by applying the Equality Act 2010 Human Rights 1998, Discrimination Act also can be with different perspectives such as Disability Act and so forth in order to be applying in the issue I have discussed. Moreover in the future use all theory and legislation if any incident happens at work or in society.

Action plan

Firstly, I wish to develop a better understanding of the different nature of discrimination by age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and so on by using the Equality Act 2010, Human Right Act 1998, and Discrimination Act by way of the first point for research. I have established an evident concern in the place of women, LGBTs, and old aged people in the healthcare setting and society; I prepare to start more research on the issue, particularly in relation to the socio-cultural discrimination against females, and LGBT groups’ healthcare in the UK. I could develop my understanding, for example, of the presence of groups or cultural groups in the UK someplace women and LGBT patients were not permitted to have proper healthcare access because of race, gender, and religion. I decided to become good healthcare in my future carer to provide service users hope and bring a good results for their needs by giving positive answers at any time. I gained sufficient knowledge in the module and I am happy to share it with peers.

References

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