Abstract
Approved meanings of health disparities have been different and often extensive, which can have severe costs for setting aims, targets, resource distribution priorities, and evaluating development. While learning in class, most lectures familiarize members with the challenges of describing health differences in ways that attract the most important principles, are theoretically comprehensive, and at the same time loan themselves to measurement, which is essential for responsibility. A definition based on philosophies from the arenas of morals and human privileges is proposed, and its rationale discussed: health inequalities do not mention all possible health differences, nor do they refer to all health differences that warrant concerted public policy devotion; they are an exact division of health differences that are relevant to social justice. Health discrepancies are efficient, reasonably preventable health alterations unpleasantly touching socially, including economically, underprivileged groups. Health disparities may mirror social shortcomings, but their causes need not be recognized; they are unfair in that they place already socially disadvantaged groups at a further disadvantage concerning their health.
Introduction
Population disparity is the difference in the rate of distribution of something in a certain population. In health, population disparity can be the extent to which a population in a place is healthy, depending on various factors. The factors include sex, age, social status, ethnicity, disability, sexual identity, geographic location, and race. Population disparity is the reason why some diseases are prevalent in some areas while in other areas, they are not. It is the same reason why some diseases are common in people of a given age and not others. For example, kwashiorkor can only affect kids at the age of five years and below and not adults. Population health disparities are sometimes considered unfair because some populations are healthier than others, and that is unjust. The fact that the younger population is healthier compared to the older population is unfair. The major idea in the article, the thesis, weaknesses and strengths, and the conclusion shall be discussed in this paper.
Critique
Thesis and Main Ideas in the Article
The title of this article is Health information source use and trust among a vulnerable rural disparities population by Jessica Gall Myrick and Michael Hendryx. The author wants to bring out the idea that population disparities are closely attached to social and economic differences. According to Jessica, population disparities have different ways of approaching it and that is why there is no common way it can be defined. There are different ways of explaining population disparity, starting with ethnicity and race. Some diseases are prevalent in one race that is not prevalent in the other race. In most tests carried out about various diseases, white people always show poor results compared to black people. Cancer mortality, which includes breast and lung cancer, is more prevalent among white people compared to back people. This disparity is brought about because of the lavish lifestyle and diet of white people. Under rural health, the people living in rural areas show contrary health outcomes compared to those living in urban areas. The people in rural areas show poor health conditions because of poor health services and poor living standards.
Causes of Health Disparities
Apart from the different approaches used to describe heath differences, there are several causes of health disparities, as brought out by Jessica. Health care is one of the factors, various health care systems in the world can be able to control some diseases while others cannot because of the level of technology (Cueto, 2020). Genetic factors are another factor because some diseases have genetic components in them. Some diseases or complications are passed down from generation to generation that is why you might find that people of the same family have a similar complication or disease. Environmental factors also contribute to health disparities. People exposed to pathogens, toxins, and carcinogens are more likely to have diseases caused by those, compared to those who live in environments that are free from those components.
Weaknesses and Strengths in this Article
The major weakness in this article is that the thesis is too broad because it states different ways in which population disparity can be approached. The thesis also tries to reveal the idea that population disparity has no official meaning but differently according to the thesis (Gall J, 2021). The conclusion of this article is also shallow as it does not give an idea of what is covered in the article. In some part, the article is off subject, especially where it gives examples about causes of health disparities. There are also strengths in this article; it gives a clear description of what population disparity is. The article also clearly shows the differences between various approaches to population disparity. The article also gives some solutions to obvious health problems that do not need serious medical attention. Finally, the article is easy to understand and connect from one idea to the next.
Conclusion of the Article
Health disparity does not have a major definition, but it has several approaches that can be used to explain it. Those approaches are what make a given population have a certain disease prevalent among them and not in the other population. Such factors include sex, age, ethnicity or race, and social status. Some factors cause health disparities, and they include environmental factors, health care systems in a given area, genetic make-up, and health behaviors.
References
Gall, J. (2021). Health information source use and trust among a vulnerable rural disparities population. Rural Health, Volume 37(3), 537-544. Web.