If I had to choose one of the leading causes of death in the country it would be cancer. In 2016, cancer had the second-largest death toll, killing 598,038 people (Zuber, 2019). One of the health disparities being the leading cause of death is that breast cancer tends to affect more black women at a faster rate than it does white women ('Cancer Disparities', 2018). Another health disparity that is the leading cause of death is that individuals with low incomes have a higher chance of dying from cancer than individuals with higher incomes ('Health Disparities in Cancer', 2018).
The two social determinants of health that contribute factors on why people with low incomes have a greater risk of dying from cancer than people of a higher pay grade are the social gradient and stress. The social gradient is a contributing factor to this health disparity because people with low incomes are not living in the best environment and they may not have a good support system. People with low incomes are most likely brought up where they had a poor education, poor working conditions, and social circumstances that wear down their bodies contributing to the being more at risk for illnesses such as cancer (Wilkinson & Marmot, 2003).
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Another social determinant of health that contributes to why people with low incomes are at high risk for cancer than higher-paid people is stress. Lower-income people usually go through a lot of stress because of their economic and social situations, so they get involved in risky behaviors because of stress. Stress also raises a person's heart rate and makes people feel that they have no control over their lives. Stress from not having a steady job can make you physically and emotionally ill and can contribute to cancer and death (Wilkinson & Marmot, 2003).
A health policy solution that can aim to reduce the risk of death from cancer would be more affordable schools built to provide more skills for better-paying jobs. This will also relieve stress and people will have money to get the treatments they need for cancer because they will have a higher-paying job after school. Another solution would be to create better jobs so that people will not have to break their backs doing hard labor, ruining their health.
References
- Cancer Disparities. (2018, March 29). Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/disparities
- Health Disparities in Cancer. (2018, July 05). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/healthdisparities/basic_info/challenges.htm
- Wilkinson, Richard, Marmot, Michael, & World Health Organization. Centre for Urban Health. (2003). The Solid Facts: Social Determinants of Health. Copenhagen: Centre for Urban Health, World Health Organization.
- Zuber, P. (2019). 0.4 Health Ethics [slide 7-8]. Retrieved from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte LBST 2214 Issues of Health and Quality of Life Canvas site: https://canvas.uncc.edu
- Zuber, P. (2019). 0.1 Measures and Health Disparities [Slide 8]. Retrieved from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte LBST 2214 Issues of Health and Quality of Life Canvas site: https://canvas.uncc.edu
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