Lesson Starter•Outline the factors that can affect

your health.

What will I learn? • Explain what is meant by ‘health

inequalities’

Success Criteria I can…

Provide evidence of health inequalities in Scotland and the UK in terms of:

• geographic location• social class• gender• ethnicity

Note: Health inequalities are usually measured in terms of life expectancy, mortality (death) rates or morbidity (illness) rates.

• There is a great deal of evidence to show that some groups of people are more likely to enjoy better health and have longer life expectancy than others i.e. everyone’s health is not equal. Four ways in which health inequalities can be demonstrated (life expectancy or mortality/morbidity) are by:

1. Geographic location within Scotland, the UK, particularly within Glasgow.

2. Social class i.e. between wealthiest and poorest.

3. Gender between males and females.

4. Ethnicity between different ethnic groups.

What are Health Inequalities?

GeographicalGeographicallocationlocation

Working Working conditionsconditions

Socio-economicSocio-economicstatusstatus

EthnicEthnicoriginorigin

Personal Personal lifestylelifestyle

HereditaryHereditaryfactorsfactors

Gender/Gender/biological biological

factorsfactors

Evidence of Health Inequalities – Geographic location: Life Expectancy in the UK Regions and

by Gender, 2008

Evidence of Health Inequalities – Geographic location: Life Expectancy in the UK & Gender,

1985-2007

Evidence of Health Inequalities – Life expectancy (years) at birth UK, Scotland, Tayside and

Dundee 1999-2001

MalesFemales

UK 75.0 80.2

Scotland 73.1 78.6

Tayside 73.9 79.2

Angus 74.7 78.9

Dundee City 71.8 78.0

Perth &

Kinross 75.4 80.7

Evidence of Health Inequalities – Geographic location: Life Expectancy, Gr. Glasgow and

Clyde 1991-2006

Evidence of Health Inequalities – Social Class: Cancer deaths in under 75s in Scotland & most

deprived areas

Evidence of Health Inequalities – U75 deaths from cancer, heart disease & stroke and by gender 1995-05

Evidence of Health Inequalities – Ethnicity and Morbidity: Limiting Long-Standing Illness, 2001

Official reports that have demonstrated the existence of health inequalities in the UK include:

- Black Report 1980 (first health inequalities report)

- Acheson Report 1998

- Caci Report 2006

-WHO report

-Three Cities Report

-‘The Tears that made the Clyde’

Evidence of Health Inequalities

Cautionary Note

Although there is an abundance of evidence to support the existence of health inequalities, this does not mean that any one individual can be ‘pigeon-holed’ regarding their health. There are many other factors which affect the health and life expectancy of an individual including:

- biological/family history

- personal lifestyle choices

- the physical and social environment

- access to health service

Quick Questions 1. What are the causes of health

inequalities? 2. Why should we be careful not to pigeon

hole somebody's health?