Instructions attached
Summary-Response
September 12, 2018
WRTG 111
Summary Response #3
Article #1: ” Financial Health is Public Health” (Jason Q. Purnell)
Summary:
In the reading selection for this week, “Financial Health is Public Health”, Jason
researched that seventy-two percent of adults worried about money “at least some of the time,”
and 26 percent worried about their finances “most or all of the time.” Jason says the connection
of financial stress to health is quite obvious in the survey results, with nearly one-third of
respondents who say that struggling to get by financially affects their ability to lead a healthy
lifestyle, and more than 20 percent who say that they have either considered or have skipped
medical visits because they lacked the financial resources. Jason also researched that childhood
exposure to poverty and stress has both immediate and long-term effects on development,
behavior, and health. Jason believes stress and its related impacts are part of a larger concept in
the field of public health called the “social determinants of health.” He says, our outcomes can’t
be explained away by our diversity or blamed entirely on the poor. Even white, college-educated,
high-income adults with health insurance have worse health outcomes than their similarly
situated peers in other nations. Jason feels that providing more and better health care is unlikely
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to solve the problem of health disparities. Jason states that the bigger impacts come from changes
in the environment that make healthy decisions easier, such as adding fluoride to the water
supply to prevent cavities or removing lead from paint which are interventions that protect
people from potential threats to health without their having to exert much energy to benefit from
them.
Response:
While reading “Financial Health is Public Health”, Jason, opened my eyes to see that
having better healthcare will not totally solve the dilemma. Even if we have better healthcare our
economy will always be there to make us sick. I agree that it is the environment that keeps us
unhealthy. The water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breathe plays a big role in our
health. You will always see a McDonald’s around but rarely do you see more healthy foods in a
neighborhood. Yes, it may be more expensive to eat healthier; but it is cheaper than paying for
medication and hospital/doctor visits. I also agree that we cannot blame our aftermaths on
diversity and economical status. I haven’t had any major health problems and I know wealthier
people with near death issues. Just because you are wealthy does not make you automatically
healthy. Being wealthy just makes it easier to recover and get well faster.
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Article #2: ” How are Income and Wealth Linked to Health and Longevity? ” (Various
Authors)
Summary:
In this article, “How are Income and Wealth Linked to Health and Longevity?”, The
group presented a critique of health, wealth, and how it is connected to longevity. The text from
this article conveys that people with low incomes tend to have more restricted access to medical
care, and are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured. Also, low-income individuals face
greater financial barriers to affording deductibles, copayments, and the costs of medicines and
other health care expenses. The group argues that the greater one’s income, the lower one’s
likelihood of disease and premature death. They support the statement with the opinion that more
affluent people can more easily afford regular and nutritious meals, which tend to be more
expensive and less convenient than less nutritious, calorie-dense, high-carbohydrate options and
fast foods. The group believes people on low incomes face higher rates of food insecurity, and
their difficult living circumstances often preclude active recreational opportunities for regular
exercise; and the cost of gym memberships or exercise equipment is often prohibitive. Basically,
they are saying income and wealth directly support better health because wealthier people can
afford the resources that protect and improve health. The team also researched that when people
are exposed to economic disadvantage; especially at critical developmental stages of life and to
other harmful life conditions, they become more vulnerable to disease processes and experience
harmful physiological reactions to toxins in their environment. Therefore, they believe stress
associated with financial adversity has a harmful biological effect on the body.
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Response:
This team of authors presented opinions that were logical and had facts to back it up.
While I agree on many things they have stated, there are some opinions I don’t agree on. First,
“the greater one’s income, the lower one’s likelihood of disease and premature death,” is an
opinion I do not agree with. Your income does not keep you free from disease and premature
death, promoting better health practices keeps you free from diseases. You cannot blame society
for health issues, some people were born with health issues and have no control over it. Wealthier
people just might have more money for treatment but, it is not because you are poor that you are
unhealthy. On the other hand, I can agree that lower-income individuals endorse their own health
issue because they believe eating healthy, working out, and promoting general health is
expensive. However, if we can educate the lower economic class about this issue, I believe that
the barriers will be broken. Finally, I believe stress in general has a negative impact on health.
There are far more wealthy people who suffer from stress and depression; for whatever reason,
which leads to intake on drugs causing death from overdosing than low-income individuals
stressing about financial situations.
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