Thesis, main arguments and debatable issues |
ThesisThe objective of this paper is to explore current frameworks explaining the factors that influence people’s health. Main ArgumentsAccording to Dennis Raphael, social determinant frameworks present an adequate explanation than individual approaches. It is connected with the fact that individualism does not consider the factor of the influence of social situation. However, society and relations with it are among the main factors that determine an individual’s health. Debatable IssuesThe materialistic model addresses a stepped pattern that is not shared by other researchers. According to this model, the poorer the individual is, the worse their health is. This connection is related to materialistic factors, such as working and living conditions. Some models present only the “here-and-now” attitude, focusing only on the current state of the individual. Nevertheless, the accumulated effects can be more important than immediate ones. The model developed by Herzman and Power (2003) offers a profound approach, describing three groups of effects: pathway, latent, and cumulative. The neo-materialistic model focuses more on the allocation of the finances among the whole society. Thus, it focuses on the impact of infrastructure that society creates, such as hospitals, libraries, and so on. Thus, according to the materialistic approach, the financial state of a country has a direct impact on the health of its citizens. Other researchers, however, argue that psychological factors, such as the perception of the position in the society, prevail over material ones. A social comparison model focuses on the place of an individual in the social hierarchy and his attitude to it. According to the social comparison model, the wider a hierarchy is within the society, the weaker is the cohesion among the individuals. Other researches argue that, first of all, this model ignores the concrete effects of differences in financial income on health. Second, this model excludes political issues such as the economic distribution of resources among the population. Third, it reduces the effects of different social determinants on health. The model developed by Tarlov (1996) is an integration of social comparison and materialistic approaches. |
Personal analysis and opinions |
| The article provides a profound analysis of the models of social determinants that influence individuals’ health. The two main approaches are materialistic and social comparison ones. Within the materialistic approach, the author also analyses the lifespan and neo-materialistic approaches. Both approaches, materialistic and social comparison one, have a number of advantages and disadvantages. To my mind, the materialistic approach can be applied more successfully in developing countries, where working and living conditions can be extremely bad. In such countries, the materialistic factor obviously plays a key role in its impact on people’s health. On the contrary, in first-world countries, the direct material factors are less likely to be so bad. However, people can have high stress levels caused by the anxiety connected with career issues. For people from such countries, the theory of social comparison approach can be applied successfully because not the material factor itself, but the fact of comparison determines the level of content of an individual. However, there is an integral approach by Tarlov, combining social comparison and materialistic frameworks. According to this model, the experience of difference in social conditions has an impact on health. To my mind, this approach reflects the main ideas of both frameworks, and it is more effective than an individual approach, as it considers the context in which the individual is put and not only individual factors. |
| My questions for further inquiry: My questions for further inquiry. (Never use questions like: what do you think? Do you agree with … ? and any opinionbased question. These are RESEARCH questions only) |
| 1. What are the models explaining social determinants that have an impact on people’s health? |
| 2. What are the shortcomings of materialistic and social comparison models? |
| 3. Why can the social determant approach be more effective than the individualistic one? |
References
Tarlov A. (1996) Social determinants of health. The sociobiological translation. In D. Blane, E. Brunner, & R. Wilkinson (Eds.). Health and Social organization. Towards a health policy for the 21st century (pp. 71–93). Routledge.