Health_Disparities_Based_on_Socioeconomic_Status

Health Disparities Based on Socioeconomic Status Sharon Acton MHA614 Nicole Hatcher July 1, 2013 Health Disparities Based on Socioeconomic Status Child poverty can be discovered in every corner of the world, whether the country be rich or poor. In most any country there are children living within the overwhelming effects of poverty. It has become a global epidemic, and the impacts it has on children are immeasurable. This paper will discuss child poverty in the United States and how it has impacted our poor children in this country. It will also go on to discuss the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and my feelings on the lack of health care for children. The general public often views the United Sates as the land of opportunity and plenty. We see television ads asking for financial donations for children in other countries who are living in poverty. We have a myriad of organizations that work to help battle poverty throughout the world. This country may be looked upon as a land of plenty by other countries, but the United States also has problems of its own. One of those problems is child poverty. As of 2006, there were 39.7 million United States citizens living in poverty, and single mothers and women had the poorest households in that same year (Hildebrandt & Stevens, 2009). In 2006 a single parent of a household of three with a yearly income of approximately $16,000 was considered living at the poverty line (Advocates for Children of New Jersey, 2011, p. 17). One third of all the homeless people in the United States are entire families with children, and the numbers are continuing to (Macionis & Plummer, 2008, p. 35). The statistics of child poverty in the United States are heart-rending. There are five million poor children under the age of six years old in this country (Macionis & Plummer, 2008, p. 40). It has been estimated that over 17 percent of children, adolescents, and teenagers in the United States are poor. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. With help from the public, they are working toward the day when NO children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood (United States Fund for UNICEF, 2013). Access to health care services is a multifaceted issue and the focus of repeated debate by scholars, policy makers, headline writers and the general public; I myself have been prone to debate it on occasion. As a society, we continue to struggle with the delivery of satisfactory medical care to all citizens. While opinions and approaches differ, there is universal consensus on one issue: for children, health care is critical. Children without health care coverage have significantly less access to health care services, as well as preventive care that makes certain childhood immunizations are up to date, vision and hearing screening and corrections have been performed, and routine dental care has been provided. Care for uninsured children is also far more probable to be delayed due to cost. Unmet health care needs also reduce children's ability to learn and to grow into healthy and productive adults. I believe that making sure children stay healthy is an important goal for all portions of society. Healthy children are essential to: * Employers—Because sick children reduce employee productivity. * The health care industry—Healthy children are essential to the health care industry because they increase profitability. * Public health programs and providers—Healthy children are vital to public health programs and providers because improving child health is part of their basic mission. * The child support community—Healthy children are important to the child support community because it is responsible for helping to improve the lives of children who live apart from one or both of their parents. * And most important, healthy children are important to parents because they love their children and want them to have the best life possible. Healthy children are important for all of society, because they are our future. References Advocates for Children of New Jersey. (2011). Newark kids count: A city profile of child well-being. Newark, NJ: Advocates for Children of New Jersey. Hildebrandt, E., & Stevens, P. (2009, May). Impoverished Women With Children and No Welfare Benefits: The Urgency of Researching Failures of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. Retrieved from US National Library of Medicine National Institiutes of Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2667863/ Macionis, J. J., & Plummer, K. (2008). Sociology:A global introduction. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. United States Fund for UNICEF. (2013). Believe in zero. Retrieved from UNICEF: United States Fund: http://www.unicefusa.org/