Question

How is being poor a risk factor for disease? What types of issues do poorer people experience with regard to health care, access, and complying with health care recommendations that may not be as prevalent in populations with more stable economic resources?

Answer 1

Ans) The health-care delivery system has undergone much change in the past few decades: new and improved drugs, devices, procedures, tests, and imaging machinery have changed patterns of care and sites where care is provided.

- The growth in ambulatory surgery has been influenced by improvements in anesthesia and analgesia and by the development of noninvasive or minimally invasive techniques.

- New and improved, and less invasive, procedures are available to treat people for a number of previously untreatable conditions in a variety of new sites of care, and even in physicians' offices. New drugs can cure disease or prolong survival of disease, although often at increased cost or with increased utilization. However, the availability of newer and improved types of health-care services does not mean that they are equally available to all Americans.

- People use health-care services to diagnose, cure, or ameliorate disease or injury; to improve or maintain function; or even to obtain information about their health status and prognosis. Many factors affect health-care utilization, including need. The need for services affects differential use of health utilization for specific populations. Ideally, need is the major determinant of health-care utilization, but other factors clearly have an impact.

- They include poverty and its correlates, geographic area of residence, race and ethnicity, sex, age, language spoken, and disability status. The ability to access care—including whether it is available, timely and convenient, and affordable—affects health care utilization.

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For people who have disabilities, accessing health care can be demanding. Many factors facilitate and hinder access to needed health care. Disability correlates with increased health-care utilization, and people who have disabilities often have worse overall health status, are poorer, and have a higher prevalence of poor health behaviors such as smoking and obesity. They also have poorer overall access because of provider discrimination, provider failure to make accommodations, and inadequate communication with providers.