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Put on your public health spectacles because we are going to see if your eye is trained to spot inequities in society. 

As a part of our Community Engagement Exercise, we are creating awareness in our community about the inequalities that make us sick. Here are some statistics and facts that we learned and want to share with you. Fact: In 2000, the WHO released a ranking of healthcare systems and the USA ranked 37th.

Can You Spot The Health Inequities?

America ranks among the lowest in terms of life expectancy with a life expectancy of 78.5 years. This shows that health is a major issue despite being considered an affluent country. The other countries have life expectancies of Japan (83.5 years), Israel (81 years), and Cuba (79.5 years), respectively.   
-Source: UNDP 2011

United States of America

Which country has the lowest life expectancy?

"Several studies suggest that recent Latino immigrants have better health outcomes than other U.S. populations despite being, on average, poorer. However, the longer they live here, the worse they fare. This phenomenon is often called the 'Latino paradox.'  
Five years after arrival, Latino immigrants’ health begins to erode; within a generation, Latinos lose their advantage and experience the higher-than-average disease rates comparable to other low-income populations."  
Source: http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/

Recent Latino immigrants

Generally speaking, which group has the best overall health in the United States?

"An American citizen’s zip code is a strong indicator of their health. A recent study of “Eight Americas” (comparing different groups within the country) found a 14.7 year gap in life expectancies at birth between the longest and shortest-lived counties.  
These differences become even starker between subgroups – for example, Asian American women in Bergen County, New Jersey, live 33 years longer than Native American men in South Dakota."  
-Source: unnaturalcauses.org

15 years difference

What is the greatest difference in life expectancy observed between counties in the U.S.?

At 2010, the mortality rate for young women in the US actually surpassed that of Sri Lanka, showing that the health of our women are becoming worse than those from poorer countries.  
-Source: “Neonatal, postneonatal, childhood, and under 5- mortality 187 countries; 1970-2010: A systematic Analysis of Progress Millennium Goal 4” by Julie Knoll Rajaratnam (May 24, 2010)

What are the chances of a 15 year old girl in the United States DYING before reaching the age of 60 as opposed to a similarly aged girl in Sri Lanka?

Pre-term is defined as being born before the full 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Babies born to Black mothers have a 10% increased chance of being born too early. Preterm birth is associated with a wide range of health implications, ranging from stalled neurological development to respiratory failure. Premature births are the number cause of death for children worldwide.   
-Source: “The Enigma of Spontaneous Preterm Birth” by Louis J Muglia (Feb 11, 2010)

What percentage of babies born from Black mothers in the US were born preterm in comparison to babies born from White mothers?

Cuba spends twice as much as we do on their education. From this, they have one of the highest literacy rates in the world, and maintains 6.7 doctors per 1000 people  
-Source: Source: National Center for Education Statistics- Education Expenditures by Country (2010)

Cuba- 13%, US-7%

What percentage of the total GDP does Cuba spend on education in comparison to the US?

Roughly 1 out of 4 women in the US take some form of antidepressant from the age of 30-50. To highlight this, the use of prescription drugs and antidepressants in the US have increased by 400% since 1988.  
-Source: “National Center for Health Statistics: Antidepressants Use in Persons Age 12 and Over, United States 2005-2008 (October 2011)

1 out of 4

What is the rate for women taking antidepressants in the US?

Despite being considered upper class, the needs of people grow, and the want for more is still present, now granted not the whopping 64% from people making less than 10k, but 27% of upper class people feel like they don’t have the means to buy what they need.  
-Source: Schor 1998

Over 25%

What percentage of people making over $100,000 feel that they are not able to purchase what they consider necessary?

The difference is miniscule as long as the family makes an average to above average income the value of happiness seems to be similar, when comparing people in the middle class to the upper class, as the effect of income on life satisfaction seems to be transient.  
-Source: Kahneman Science June 30, 2006

What percentage difference are families “happier” if they receive an income of over 100,000 instead of in the 50,000 bracket?

The single strongest predictor of health is our position on
the class pyramid. Those at the top have the most power and resources, and on average live longer
and healthier lives. Those on the bottom are exposed to many health threats over which they have little
or no control – insecure and low-paying jobs, mounting debt, poor child care, poor quality housing, less
access to healthy food, unreliable transportation, and noisy and violent living conditions – that increase
their risk of chronic disease and early death. Even among smokers, poor smokers face a higher
mortality risk than rich smokers. Those of us in the middle are still worse off than those at the top. - Source: unnaturalcauses.org

Whether or not you are wealthy

On average, which of the following is the best predictor of one’s health?

Social determinants of health play a large role in our society. Policies that impact social factors such as, education, housing, and income in our society can also impact our health - this is where we can begin to make positive impacts on health. Using this lens, we can then see how social and biological factors intersect to make us sick or healthy. Now that you know more about these issues, go out there and get to learn how you can help reduce health disparities and inequalities in our society.

You made it! Now what are you going to do with this new information?

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Can You Spot The Health Inequities?

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