Socio-economic Status Driven Social, Behavioral, and Financial Burden on Patients: A Critical Assessment of Health Equity
摘要
Socioeconomic status (SES)-driven social, behavioral, and financial burdens on patients designate a crucial challenge in attaining healthcare and health equity. This research paper explores the various impacts of socioeconomic disparities on individuals’ health outcomes, exploring how economic standing influences access to healthcare, health-related behaviors, and overall well-being. Health disorders are natural events that occur from birth to death. Therefore, symptoms, diagnosis, prevention, precaution, and therapeutics are significant terms in the medical field and are co-linked with socioeconomic status (SES). However, no person wants to get ill, and it is their right to be healthy and should be protected. Diseases can occur in several ways that can be natural or accidental but can be avoidable in most cases. Still, there is always a probability of getting affected with diseases due to several direct or indirect ways. Patients are always vulnerable to disease conditions not only due to disease-causing agents but also the surrounding environmental factors termed social determinants of health (SDH), which further impact the patient’s condition. Other associated factors act as a barrier to health equity in the broader context of social differences among different ethnicities, races, religions, disabilities, and gender orientations. In addition, employment, geographic location, and poverty also play a crucial role in patients’ lives. Despite significant investments to improve access to high-quality health care, health inequities in the United States persist by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, as well as by economic and community-level factors such as demographic location, literacy rate, poverty status, and occupation. It is a true perception that compared to the white populations and urban counterparts, they are healthier than Black and other communities residing in rural areas. Using secondary data sources and scholarly publications, this research examines SES-driven social, behavioral, and financial burdens on patients and how health disparities exacerbate patients’ circumstances. The paper suggests possible part ways to create health equity. There are clear disparities that exist for the top diseases such as heart disease, Cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, COVID-19, diabetes, infant and maternal mortality, hypertension, chronic illness, disability, mental illness, substance use, etc. There is a crucial role for the government and non-governmental organizations to bring policies and investments related to healthcare-associated resources such as trained personnel, facilities, transportation, access to hospitals, encouraging participation in yoga and meditations, nutrient-rich hygienic foods, basic amenities, health insurance, surrounding people, medical professionals, etc. It s a conclusive effort required from all possible angles to reduce mental instability and enhance the surrounding atmosphere of patients to achieve better health outcomes and promote health equity.