Socioeconomic Status and Disability - Essay Example

Socioeconomic Status and Disability Name: Institution: Socioeconomic Status and Disability Preamble History has it that that the doctrine of socioeconomic status can partially reflect the potential of a target group to be characterized with certain developmental disability. The prevalence of developmental disability can amazingly be high among people living in poverty and deplorable circumstances. Discovery and understanding of the relationship between socioeconomic status and occurrence of disability is a crucial factor for the Australian Government Department of Health (AGDH) in planning and deciding on the best course of action to address general social issues particularly the developmental disability. The Department of Human Services, the Disability Service, has a custom program initiated to address the disability problem and it can greatly benefit from any informational tool unveiling the relationship between socioeconomic status and disability in planning future programs to sustain the health concern (Bradbury, Norris & Abello, 2001). Information about the relationship between the two contexts can also be important in the allocation of funds that contributes to the socioeconomic status disparities. Allocation of development funds should reflect service needs and the cost of delivering services that are unique to a given socioeconomic status. The relationship between socioeconomic status and disability is relevant in funding models for disability, allocation of resources and facilities aimed at addressing the disability problem (Rojewsk, Lee, Gregg & Gemici, 2012). Regions with high number of economically disadvantaged people report higher number of citizens with disabilities compared with areas that are dominated by middle and high income earners. According to Coppin, Ferrucci, Lauretani, Philips, Chang, Bandinelli and Guralnik (2006), studies have established a strong association between low socioeconomic status and the increased risk of disability in old age. Several psychological impairments evident in later life are associated with the level of socioeconomic status. This position statement gives a general synopsis of the increasing informational backing alluding correlation between socioeconomic status and disability. The statement is of particular importance to the AGDH. Disability as a Health Care Problem Disability refers to various aspects of individual wellbeing: developmental disability, physical disability, psychological forms of disability such intellectual disability, behavioural disability and general mental disability. Management of the different forms of disability greatly influences all components of the healthcare system, and the general healthcare practice. Healthcare activities are obliged to revolve around stemming the changing and increasing needs of people with disabilities in the society in order to advance the general wellbeing of the general community (Altman & Barnartt, 2006). Disability being a special need feature, it requires the customization of population-based health promotion programs according to the needs of the persons with disabilities if the healthcare systems are to meet the need of such people. In the area of health preventions, discrimination or failure to consider the special needs of people with disabilities may translate to significant health delivery complications such as inadequacy in detecting the onset of illness and diseases. For example, various important screenings for breast cancer are rarely carried out in people with psychological disabilities, which generally predispose them to late diagnosis of such healthcare problems leading to avoidable death. According to Clements (2008), high incidences of diagnostic overshadowing in the treatment of people with disability in Australian healthcare setting have been reported. Health concerns are incorrectly linked with the person’s impairments, resulting in the failure to diagnose and treat health risks. The Australian tertiary healthcare system is significantly subjected to financial constrains particularly due to the application of the rationalistic utilitarian economic policies. This premise connotes either overt or covert approaches in the denial or limitation of medical services to persons with disability particularly due to the negative perceptions of their social value. The role of healthcare systems in addressing the problems of people with disabilities supports the relevance of the discussion on the connection between socioeconomic status (Valencia, Robinson, Michael & George, 2011) and disability to the Australian Department of Health. The Influence of Socioeconomic Status on Disability Development The prevalent disability rate surfaces as a socioeconomic indicator, particularly emerging as a type of poverty index or development mark. According to Altman and Barnartt (2004), lower socioeconomic status and higher poverty levels are strongly associated with higher disability rates. The association is explained by several characteristics of the lower socioeconomic status including lower immunization rates, poor nutritional status and low birth weight of babies. Additionally, other indicative aspects include higher illiteracy rates, unemployment and lower occupational immobility. Researchers have attempted to explain the relationship between socioeconomic status and disability through comparison of different forms of disability and their correlation with social and economic variables. Exposure to low socioeconomic position or poverty has a pervasive detrimental impact on wellbeing, and people with intellectual disabilities have exacerbated risk. The imperative is thus that the lowly emotional and behavioural wellbeing of people with intellectual disabilities may be partially attributed to their poor socioeconomic position. According to Emerson and Einfeld (2011), recent research suggests that increased exposure to low socioeconomic status or poverty may account for about 20-50 percent of the increased risk for poorer health and mental health. Exposure to poverty or low socioeconomic position accounts for part of the differences in wellbeing among people with intellectual disabilities when compared with people from high socioeconomic status. Mental disabilities among people living in the lower socioeconomic status could be attributed to cumulative exposure to acute life stresses or adverse life events. The situation is deplored by exposure to specific life events such as abuse, parental death, and lack of proper care during childhood. Poor family functioning and single parenthood may also contribute to development of psychological disability among children brought up in such families. Poor family functioning and single parenthood incidences are more common among people living in the lower socioeconomic status or abject poverty (Gargiulo & Kilgo, 2004). Disabilities crucial features reflective of excessive poverty and people with disabilities emerge as the most marginalized in terms of the economic and social development of the communities where they come from. The problem of disability has been aggravated by failure to prioritize disability issues and involve persons with disabilities in poverty reduction interventions (Taylor, 2011). Within Australia, the rate of disability has been reported to be twice higher among the indigenous communities than the rest of the public. Studies involving different developed countries such as UK, USA and Australia have revealed significant link between disability rates and the low income with number of people with disabilities increasing with the reduction in income. In addition, the prevalence also increases with unemployment with a great number of disabled people being unemployed or their backgrounds comprising of high number of unemployed family members. The severity of some disabilities especially psychological conditions is aggravated by increase in unemployment or lack of a source of income (Gargiulo & Kilgo, 2004). On the other hand, disability imparts negative influence on the socioeconomic status of the affected people through inability to secure employment or indulge in economic building activities. Certain forms of disability including physical and psychological conditions undermine the capability of the affected people to participate in any income generating activity thereby translating to worsening of their conditions. Low Socioeconomic Status and Disability in Old Age The effects of socioeconomic status on disability are pronounced in old age in which a significant number of people face more challenges in accessing adequate healthcare (Klaber, Underwood & Gardiner, 2009). Other disadvantages faced in late life include inadequate nutrition, exposure to excessive stress, and exposure toxins that contribute to the increased disability prevalence. People in the late life stages require intensive health care, which may not be readily accessible due to financial constraints. Elderly people among the indigenous communities in Australia have lower education knowledge, high rates of poverty, low income and higher dependence on the social security income (Hoffmann, 2008). In this case, they demand increased medical attention, which may not be affordable to them leading to development of various body complications. Interventions and Recommendations Owing to the strong link between socioeconomic status and disability prevalence, management of the different forms of disability require not medication but the contributing factors such as poverty. Without focus on the contributing factors to the development of certain disabilities, the Australian Government Health Department will continue committing large budgets for the management of the disability problem without any significant progress. Therefore, understanding the link between lower socioeconomic status and disability is crucial in establishing sustainable measures to address the problem (Bowen & Gonzalez, 2010). Information on the role of poverty towards the development of some disabilities such as intellectual, mental and psychological disability should be given due priority in the development of disability programs and healthcare based interventions (Emerson & Einfeld, 2011). Exposure to several circumstances unique with the lower socioeconomic status emerges as either causal factors in the development of disabilities or exasperating factors (Emerson, 2003). In this case, the department should focus on strategies to address poverty, low income, and unemployment as some of the root cause of disabilities in among the indigenous Australian communities. It is evident that people with disabilities do not get appropriate healthcare services including discriminatory treatment such as overshadowing diagnosis and failure to diagnose deadly diseases such as cervix and breast cancer (Clements, 2008). The people in the lower socioeconomic status could attribute the eventualities to unequal access to healthcare services. Therefore, it is important for the department establish policies to guide the treatment of the people with equal measure regardless of their socioeconomic status. People diagnosed with any of the different forms of disabilities should be taken through similar screening processes as the wealthier class to prevent late diagnosis of certain life threatening health conditions. The department of health can liaise with the department of human development to ensure allocation of funds towards reduction of the poverty as the first step in the prevention of developmental and psychological disabilities. Disabled people should be involved in poverty eradication plans and initiatives as way of reducing their potential of living in the lower socioeconomic status. Health programs aimed addressing issues such as smoking and drug abuse that affect both the normal people and the people with disabilities should ingrate the need of such people as opposed to previous experiences where such programs have left out the people with special needs (Thomas, 2007). Attempts should be made to eliminate the negative perception of the social value of people with disabilities, which is a major contributor to their discrimination within the healthcare system. Enactment of comprehensive measures to address poverty, unemployment and low income among the Australian indigenous communities is crucial in reducing the healthcare burden associated with the treatment of people with disabilities. Owing to the prevalence of socioeconomic status related disabilities in old age, the department should consider enacting policies to facilitate increased medical attention among the aging people. The social security income should be increased to ensure that such people access important services and adequate nutrition to limit the disability prevalence experienced in later life (Thomas, 2007). In Summary Several studies have established a strong association between lower socioeconomic status and higher prevalence of disabilities. The association is supported by compounding factors such as lower immunization rates, poor nutrition, limited access to quality medical services and poverty related stress among other numerous factors. Children raised in poorly functioning families and through single parenthood have shown increased risk rates to the development of disabilities. Information on the relationship between socioeconomic status and disability is crucial to the department of health especially in establishing policies to address the disability problems that have greatly affected negatively on the Australian healthcare system. The government commits a significant percentage of its resources to support people with disabilities hence the need to find sustainable solutions to the problem through addressing of the root causal factors. In order to limit the effect of socioeconomic status on the disability prevalence in the country, several measures should be implemented including enactment of policies to guarantee equal access to health care services among the people with disabilities and involvement of the people in initiatives aimed at reducing poverty in the country. References Altman, B., & Barnartt, S. (2006). International views on disability measures: Moving toward comparative measurement. London: Emerald Group Publishing. Bowen, M.E., & Gonzalez, H.M. (2010). Childhood socioeconomic position and disability in later life: Results of the health and retirement study. American Journal of Public Health, 100(1), 197-203. Bradbury, B., Norris, K., & Abello, D. (2001). Socio-Economic disadvantage and the prevalence of disability. Social Policy Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.crr.unsw.edu.au/media/File/Report1_01_SocioEconomic_Disadvantage.pdf Clements, L. (2008) Disabled people and the right to life: The protection and violation of disabled people’s most basic human right. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. Coppin, K., Ferrucci, L., Lauretani, F., Phillips, C., Chang, M., Brandinelli, S., & Guralnik, M. (2006). Low socioeconomic status and disability in old age: evidence from the InChianti study for the mediating role of physiological impairments. Journal of Gerontol a Biological Medicine, 6(1), 86-91. Emerson, E., & Einfeld, S. (2011). Challenging behaviour. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Emerson, E. (2003). Mothers of children and adolescents with intellectual disability: Social and economic situation, metal health status, and self-assessed social and psychological impact of child’s difficulties. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 47 (4/5), 385-399) Gargiulo, R., & Kilgo, J. (2004). Young children with special needs. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Hoffmann, R. (2008). Socioeconomic differences in old age mortality. London: Springer. Klaber, M.J.A., Underwood, M.R., & Gardiner, E.D. (2009). Socioeconomic status predicts functional disability in patients participating in a back pain trial. Disability & Rehabilitation, 31(10), 783-790. Rojewsk, J.W., Lee, I.H., Gregg, N., & Gemici, S. (2012). Development patterns of occupational aspirations in adolescents with high-incidence disabilities. Exceptional Children, 78(2), 157-179. Taylor, M. (2011). The causal pathway from socioeconomic status to disability trajectories in later life: The importance of mediating mechanisms for onset and accumulation. Research on Aging, 33 (1), 84-108. Thomas, L. (2007). Nutrition Intervention in older populations: Modelling the dietary behavioral intentions of congregate meal site participants. London: ProQuest. Valencia, C., Robinson, M.E., Michael, E., George, S.Z. (2011). Socioeconomic status influences the relationship between fear-avoidance beliefs work and disability. Pain Medicine, 12(2), 328-336. Read More