How Does Poverty Affect Individual Health and Well-Being?
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Introduction - Poverty and Health: The Vicious Cycle Explored
In the present world, both developed and developing nations are facing major issues related to the health and employment of the population. As the population is increasing the rate of unemployment is also increasing, and the nations are unable to develop better job opportunities for the population(Ridosko, et. al. 2018).With the increasing issue of unemployment and other economic issues, poverty had become a major issue for all the nations and the entire world as well. The peoples belonging to the poor section of society face issues in meeting their basic needs and are living a poor living standard as well.Due to lack of income, the poor section of the society faces major issues related to their health and are at higher risk of different diseases. The present essay explores that to what extent poverty is having an influence on the health of the individual and how these issues are interrelated with one another.
Poverty and health are the major concern for all the nations as it is considered to be the important issues which are affecting major section of the society and raising several other issues for them(Patel, et. al. 2020). Both the terms poverty and health issues are interrelated with each other and are having a significant impact on one another. Poverty is being referred to as a state or a condition in which the individual is facing the lack of financial resources due to which they are not able to live a minimum standard of life. On the other hand, health is a state of physical and mental well-being. Both the terms are interrelated because if the individual has a good income than he will be living a better life with all the essential needs and will face less health issue as compared to the one who is not living a better life.
Poverty and the health
Poverty and the health of the individuals are interconnected with one another, or it can be said that poverty is having a negative impact on the health of the individuals and also the poor health leads the individuals towards poverty. Poverty is having a direct link with health as the income of the individual is related to the health expenses of the individual. Different characteristics of poverty are interrelated with the ill health or the poor health of the individual, which reflects that both the factors are interrelated with one another.The health of an individual is highly affected by the level of income of the individuals. It can be said that poverty or the level of income affects the health of all the individuals irrespective of gender, age or any other health issue. Females and the children are experiencing the significant impact of poor lifestyle and poverty on their health.
When the children and females do not get enough high-quality diet that they face different health issues among them. Lack of proteins and vitamins are the most common issue which is being faced by poor women and children, and the lack of nutrition also leads to several other health issues among them. If the child is facing the issue of poverty in his infants, then the adverse effects of poverty continue with his adulthood also and lead to a greater negative impact on the health of the individuals. Getting high diet is very important for the children and the impact of lower nutrition and poverty lists among the issue which are having a long term impact on the health of the individuals.
Lower-income status of the individuals might lead to different health-related issues, and the poor section of the society is facing these issues across the globe.Receiving poor nutrition is one of the major characteristics of poverty which is having a direct impact on the health of the individuals(Simon, et. al. 2018). Nutrition is one of the most important things for all the individual belonging to different age groups; it is necessary for everyone to receive high quality and nutritious food which can help them in having normal growth, having healthy body weight, developing better immunity to fight with the disease or it can be said that getting proper nutrition is very important for the having proper health. The poor population does not receive proper nutrition due to lack of resources and lack of proper income. Poverty is one of the important factorswhich leads to poor nutrition. Due to receiving poor nutrition the individual belonging to the poorsection of society are more prone to several health issues such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2-diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases as well. Poverty or the lower-income is also associated with other health problems such as high death rates, high infant mortality rate, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, malaria and it also increases the risk of several other communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Poor shelter and poor living condition are also the important characteristics of poverty which is having a significant negative impact on the heath of the individuals. If the individuals are not living in better housing than it increases the risk of different communicable diseases which lead to worst effects on the health of the individuals. The poor living condition leads to less focus on health and safety protections(Oliveras, et. al. 2020). Due to this, the poor population is more prone to health risks and the risk of accidents increases for the poor peoples, which might lead to several health issues.Poor living conditions increase the risk of health issues whichincludes different physical and mental health issues such as respiratory illness, infections, injuries, chronic diseases, poor nutrition, communicable diseases and it also has a negative impact on the mental health and can develop the issue such as anxiety and depression.
Poverty also leads to less expense on health as the peoples belonging to low-income households are not having a better income due to which they are unable to meet their health care needs. Due to poverty the poor section of the society is unable to meet their basic needs such as food and shelter and are living the worst living conditions as well which increases their risks for diseases and then they are also not having money to get better health care due to high cost of the care. Due to lack of proper resources, the poor peoples have less life expectancy as compared to the middle class or high-class peoples of the society. The poor peoples havea limited income because of which they spend less on their health, and this affects the health of all the poor peoples belonging to different age groups children, adults and elderly peoples as well. Lower life expectancy among the poor peoples is due to the lack of investment on the healthcare and due to this reason they don't even get proper healthcare even for the severe health issues which are having a negative impact on life expectancy.
Strong financial link is present between poverty and the poor health of the peoples. It can be said that the individual's income is having a significant impact on the way he or she is living and the living standard as well. To have good health, the person must get better high-quality food, shelter, proper nutrition, proper care and high-quality healthcare and if the person is not earning good income or belongs to the poor section of the society. Along with the lack of income and poverty also leads to less availability of the information related to healthcare and health-promoting practices(Li, and Zhang, 2020). Also,poor people work in poor work conditions as they are not much educated due to which they work in different lower wages jobs that do not offer better workplaces. When the individuals are working in poor work conditions than the occupational hazard leads to several health issues for the individuals, which are very important to address. Both the physical and mental health of the individuals are affected when they are working in poor work condition, and this also reflects that poverty is having a significant impact onthe health of the individuals.
Due to lack of better income, the major section of the poor society hasa mental illness, and due to this, the violence is also higher among them which is also having a significant impact on the health of the individuals. Due to poverty, the poor section of the society is also lesser education which also increases the risk of toxic exposures which are also the major health issues. With the lack of income, the peoples living in poor health condition are more careless towards their well being and physical fitness, and this also has a negative impact on the health of the individuals.
On the basis of the above discussion, it can be said that poverty is a major issue which is having a significant impact on the health of poor people. Understanding the relationship between healthcare and poverty is not simple as this is a complex issue and involves different factors which are interrelated with each other. It can be said that for better health, it is the most important thing for the individuals to have better income so that they can live a better life and can get also afford to get better healthcare. The health outcomes of the individual depend on different factors such as nutrition, level of healthcare provided, proper shelter, healthy habits and other environmental factors and all these factors are depended on poverty. According to this, it can be said that both the issues are interconnected, and it is important for the government to develop better policies, laws and strategies related to the poor section of the society and for poverty as well. Along with this, the government should also focus on developing better programs for ensuring that the poor section of the society should also receive better healthcare services which can help them in living a healthy life.
Reference
Li, Z. and Zhang, L., 2020. Poverty and health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study in rural China. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 18, pp.1-10.
Oliveras, L., Artazcoz, L., Borrell, C., Palència, L., Lopez, M.J., Gotsens, M., Peralta, A. and Marí-Dell'Olmo, M., 2020. The association of energy poverty with health, health care utilisation and medication use in southern Europe. SSM-population health, 12, p.100665.
Patel, J.A., Nielsen, F.B.H., Badiani, A.A., Assi, S., Unadkat, V.A., Patel, B., Ravindrane, R. and Wardle, H., 2020. Poverty, inequality and COVID-19: the forgotten vulnerable. Public health, 183, p.110.
Ridosko, J., Vare?kova, ?., Mavole, J. and Turner, J., 2018. Poverty and Health Care for Socially Excluded Communities.
Simon, D., McInerney, M. and Goodell, S., 2018. The earned income tax credit, poverty, and health. Health Affairs.
