Poverty
Pronounced deprivation in well-being (World Bank).
Pro and con of poverty
Pro: It explains why people may be at a disadvantage in society
Con: It is multi-dimensional as there are several types of poverty which makes it difficult to accurately measure
Why poverty is useful for understanding health and social inequities
Health: It explains why certain ethnic groups such as Māori or Pacific Peoples suffer more in comparison to other groups in terms of health outcomes
Social: It allows us to understand how poverty impacts an individual’s social-well being through factors such as education or employment
Disparity
Avoidable differences in health or in its key determinants that adversely affect marginalised or excluded groups (Braveman).
Pro and con of disparity
Pro: It highlights differences which can be measured between groups
Con: It does not describe whether or not these differences are unfair or not
Why disparity is useful to understand health and social inequities
Health: It makes health differences visible and highlights gaps in certain areas such as access to health care
Social: It makes social differences visible and highlights gaps in certain areas such as education or employment
VI (vertical inequality) - individual
A type of inequality that is aimed at individuals or households. It refers to the POST-HOC prevalence and can happen as a result of either chance, genes, the environment and the choices that an individual makes (Stewart).
Pro and con of VI (vertical inequality) - individual
Pro: It shows just how unequal society is e.g. It shows that certain individuals suffer more than others
Con: It only focuses on individuals so it can be difficult to demonstrate any group patterns through this measure
Why is VI useful for understanding health and social inequities
Health: It shows how differences in SES lead to unequal health outcomes
Social: It shows how resources and opportunities are unequally distributed through certain individuals in society
HI (Horizontal Inequality) - group
A type of inequality that is aimed at groups, where group distinctions are sufficiently established and are persistent and noticeable e.g. race, gender. They often happen as a result of historical disadvantages, group taking time to catch up or hindrances in social capital (Stewart)
Pro and con of HI (horizontal inequality) - group
Pro: It highlights group-based disadvantage so it reveals systemic differences between groups
Con: The likelihood of persistent deprivation for deprived groups is greater so it can be a worse measure than vertical inequality
Why is HI (horizontal inequality) - group useful for understanding health and social inequities
Health: Helps to reduce health inequities as it ensures that people with the same level of health needs can receive the same level of care as other people
Social: It shows how entire social groups can be systematically disadvantaged
Equity
Everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible (Braveman).
Pro and con of equity
Pro: It helps lower SES groups to improve their health outcomes
Con: It can be subjective which means that certain individuals may have a different understanding of what fair means so the health needs of populations may differ
Why is equity useful for understanding health and social inequities
Health: It shows that health inequalities are not rooted in structure but are a result of unequal distribution in other social determinants of health such as income or education
Social: It also shows that outcomes such as income are unequal, and we can use equity to improve these outcomes
