Unequal Access to Healthcare

Introduction

Healthcare inequalities is the area of life, that definitely demonstrates a difference in medical aid between those, who have more income than those, who have less income. This social problem is rooted in the systemic disparities that hinder marginalized groups in their quest to access health services. The system creates barriers that local communities living in the shadows of poverty face, and the situation just gets worsened leading to public health problems. Inequalities in resources, education, and opportunities etc. also willy-nilly are promoting and reinforcing the above harder issue in a vicious cycle. This essay provides an insight into the far-reaching consequences of unequal healthcare access, touching on its linkage with socioeconomic stratification.

The elegant cause and effect relationships between the rise of socioeconomic inequality and the overall decrease in the quality of healthcare are undeniable. People with lower socioeconomic status may face barriers in accessing healthcare, for example, there might be absence of funds, faulty health insurance programs, and the distribution of medical centres might be skewed geographically. These people are unable to gain from regular check-ups and prompt care services or maybe the basic drugs which can reduce their health inequalities hence they are likely to have much poorer health outcomes. The social and the economic factors are pointed out to show how systems are inter-connected to generate a network of barriers that makes it hard for people to enjoy fair wellness.

A look into the problem through the prism of conflict theory will introduce new themes of power misuse that are directly linked to health care inequality. By echoing the conflict theorists, they claim that the nature of society emerges from a struggle for access to scarce resources and in the context of medicine it becomes a buyers’ market for limited health services. The wealthier the people in a society the greater the opportunity for better healthcare, and the disadvantaged people in a society would probably face certain barriers that perpetuate their disadvantaged position. This philosophy, in reality, highlights systemic character of a problem and the necessity of structural changes so as to solve the root causes of healthcare inequality.

Through the application of the sociological imagination to the issue of inadequate distribution of healthcare attends to the fact that individuals must be in possession of the ability to perceive the link that exists between the troubling personal problems and broader social structures. In order to understand the bigger picture of the problems, sociological imagination suggests that we endorse the society playing a role as well. Through knowing and understanding how healthcare system itself creates and sustains racial inequities, people can campaign for policy reforms and social reconstruction that break the vicious circle, give more power to people with more equal opportunities.

Adoption of universal healthcare system programs is one of the solution to unequal access to healthcare. Individuals from poor backgrounds often fail to seek medical care due to financial restraints and are therefore at greater risk of falling into a vicious cycle of disadvantage and poor health. A universal healthcare system should take this issue into account by trying to grant universal access to basic medical care for everyone. The adoption of policies that are aimed at advancing equal healthcare access can be one of the factors for a socially more inclusive and just community.

The number one consequence of unjust health care is the fact that lives are destroyed and the health of human beings is jeopardized. For me, I may not be the direct candidate but imagining myself in a better society engenders a sense of accountability. The individuals may take the steps like pushing for policy changes, assisting organizations that are struggling to give health care inequality. Through participatory actions, participants would have a say in the establishment of society as a shared ground where everybody equally has prospects for good health.

In conclusion, health equity is an infinite of social troubles highly linked with economic distinctions. Examining this tension utilizing the conflict theory, applying sociological imagination, and seeking viable replacements such as universal healthcare manifest that societal factors underlie it and solutions of a comprehensive, structural nature are needed. Realizing social inequality as a major problem social policy makers should be taking proactive steps toward solving it.

References

Abatemarco, A., Beraldo, S., & Stroffolini, F. (2020). Equality of opportunity in health care: access and equal access revisited. International Review of Economics, 67, 13-29.

Immergut, E. M., & Schneider, S. M. (2020). Is it unfair for the affluent to be able to purchase “better” healthcare? Existential standards and institutional norms in healthcare attitudes across 28 countries. Social Science & Medicine, 267, 113146.

Torfs, L., Adriaenssens, S., Lagaert, S., & Willems, S. (2021). The unequal effects of austerity measures between income-groups on the access to healthcare: a quasi-experimental approach. International journal for equity in health, 20, 1-10.