Social Determinants Of Health Allegory Assessment Answer

Write an assignment on Social Determinants of Health Allegory

Introduction:

Health disparities are rampant in the US due to the several social determinants of health such as classism, nativism and racism. This mind-set of the people has made them believe that certain class of people such as the low income immigrants are inferior to the other middle and high income group of people (NCBI, 2017). This results in a belief and social stereotyping that the immigrants are inferior class of people and therefore they do not have the right to enjoy the same facilities in healthcare as compared to the citizens of the country. This is an ominous thought that has a negative outcome on the society. I have attempted to describe the issue to my grandmother through an allegorical story.

Discussion:

The core discussion of this report is based on the healthcare disparities those are faced by the low income immigrants in the US. They are the social group that is often neglected in terms of having access to all the modern healthcare amenities and facilities. Though the health authorities are trying to improve the healthcare infrastructure for this group of people, yet there has been no significant change of fate for this ill-fated group of people those cannot afford the high expenses on healthcare. The looking down upon on this class of people by those belonging to the affluent section of the society had led to the development of an inferiority complex where these people think of themselves as inferior to the others and this is a social stigma that needs to be improved.

I have bought two lovebirds from a pet market. One is yellow and the other one is blue in colour. I have bought two cages separately for them. This depicts institutionalized racism (Hughes, 2017). I have a personal preference for the blue bird as I prefer blue colour. So, I fed the blue bird in the cage with the most nutritious grains and water from time to time. In case of the yellow bird I was a bit reluctant to feed it on time as it was not my priority. This shows personally-mediated racism as I have strong preference for the blue bird and I think that the blue bird is superior to the yellow one. One day I put both the birds in the same cage and I supplied them with grains and water. I put the good quality of grains in one pot and the inferior ones in the other. I was surprised to find that the yellow bird will not eat the good quality grains but it fed on the inferior quality of grains. It might have realized that it was inferior to the blue bird and it does not deserve to feed on the high quality of grains. This is an example of internalized racism which the yellow bird might have believed that blue is inherently superior to yellow. The scenario is the same in case of health disparities faced by low income immigrants in the US who are devoid of high quality of healthcare based on the social belief that immigrants are inferior to the citizens. Even the immigrants have internalized this social belief (Jones, 2002).

Conclusion:

On a concluding note to this allegorical story depicting the causes of the health disparities in low income immigrants, it has been understood that the belief that the people has in mind regarding a certain class of people is the main cause of the health disparities in the US. The majority of the citizens look down upon the immigrants and think of them as inferior beings than themselves. This outlook has permeated into the entire society and therefore, the government has also failed to improve the state of healthcare for the immigrants. More importantly, the immigrants have also started to think of them as inferior social classes due to continued seclusion and stereotyping. Thus, the mentality of the society needs to change so that they consider the immigrants to be of same class and value as their own. The changed belief of the society will also alter the outlook of the government and health authorities and that might change the fate of healthcare services available to the low income immigrants.

Recommendations:

The following recommendations seem plausible to improve the scenario:
The social outlook of the people in the US needs to change and there should be equitable healthcare facilities and infrastructure available to all the social classes.
The people belonging to the low income group such as the immigrants should not be looked down upon as inferiors and the change in the way they are perceived by the US society will certainly change the initiatives of the government and healthcare agencies also and there will be access to high quality of healthcare at affordable expenses for these people.
The low income immigrants must stand up for their own rights and they should not feel inferior to the others. The way they think about themselves will also have effect on how they can voice for their rights to equitable healthcare services.

References