Deck 12: Health Inequalities and Health Inequities

Question 1

Norman Daniels defines health as __________ functions or the lack of pathology.

Answer 1

normal

Question 2

ICD 10 and DSM are systems for __________ diseases.

Answer 2

classifying

Question 3

The DALY index solves a defeat disease measurement problem because it includes __________

Answer 3

morbidity and mortality.

Question 4

Health inequality describes a difference in health status that a society finds __________ __________

Question 5

If the population has suffered from an inequitable distribution of care services, Rawls' __________ and distributive justice requires that the situation be addressed.

Question 6

__________ health inequality consistently affects two or more populations.

Question 7

According to Whitehead, inequalities based on unhealthy working conditions would have an __________

Question 8

Equal allocation of resources across the population is referred to as __________

Question 9

Society recognizes that not all health inequalities are __________

Question 10

When a disadvantaged group has an increased risk of illness and greater consequences of illness, there is a __________

Question 11

Classification of diseases affects the definition of inequality and in equity. Discuss two examples of a health inequality that is not a health inequity.

Question 12

Whitehead's criteria help to understand the difference between inequity and inequality. Using the example of inadequate access to healthcare services, discuss two reasons why this occurrence is unjust.

Question 13

Using the information in Chapter 12 and the principles of ethics, present two reasons why health inequities should be addressed in a just society.

Question 14

How does bioethicist Norman Daniels' definition of health differ from that of the constitution of WHO's definition?

A) His definition is much narrower in scope, defining it as "the absence of pathology, mental or physical."
B) His definition is similar, but adds "the capacity to lead a socially meaningful and economically productive life."
C) His definition is broader, defining it as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
D) His definition is more objective, and is measurable by "biological and physiologic characteristics indicating health."

Question 15

Which of the following might a researcher use to assess a more expansive and subjective health status of a person?

A) mortality
B) life expectancy
C) symptoms
D) disease incidence

Question 16

Why is providing definitions of health, or subjective experience of symptoms, comparing populations to determine the levels of inequality between them often difficult?

A) Record keeping is often inaccurate and sporadic in some populations.
B) Health is defined by some medical professionals only by symptoms.
C) Different populations can have very different health belief systems.
D) Definitions of health vary among medical professionals.

Question 17

Which of the following best describes the link between health inequalities and inequalities in health care?

A) Most inequalities in health care lead do to health inequalities, while only some health inequalities happen as the consequence of healthcare equality.
B) Although inequalities in health care can lead to health inequalities, in the context of healthcare equality, some may be rectified.
C) Inequalities in health care are not the cause of health inequalities, rather health inequalities occur due to external influences.
D) Some inequalities in health care do not necessarily lead to health inequalities, whereas many health inequalities occur in the context of healthcare equality.

Question 18

If the average blood pressure readings of two populations are identical, but the variation is larger in one population and smaller in the other population, what can be concluded?

A) There is greater total inequality within the population of the larger variation of blood pressure readings than compared to the other population, but there is relative equality between the two populations.
B) There is relative equality within the population of the larger variation of blood pressure readings than compared to the other population, but there is a greater total inequality between the two populations.
C) There is greater total inequality within the population of the smaller variation of blood pressure readings than compared to the other population, but there is relative equality between the two populations.
D) There is relative equality within the population of the smaller variation of blood pressure readings than compared to the other population, but there is a greater total inequality between the two populations.

Question 19

Which of the following is true when considering why care should be taken when making inferences regarding health inequality with individuals?

A) Health inequality is objective, so it does not provide descriptive measures.
B) Health inequalities are usually significantly more noticeable in individuals.
C) Health inequality is not the most scientifically rigorous measurement available.
D) Health inequalities generally involve the comparison of population averages.

Question 20

How does health equality contrast with health inequity?

A) Health inequality is a descriptive term, while health inequity is a normative term.
B) Health inequality is a subjective term, while health inequity is an objective term.
C) Health inequality is a normative term, while health inequity is a descriptive term.
D) Health inequality is an objective term, while health inequity is a subjective term.

Question 21

Which of the following is required to determine whether a particular inequality constitutes an inequity?

A) an unbiased analysis of the social, economic, physical, and psychological impact on the population
B) a moral judgment based on reasonings about justice, fairness, and the distribution of social resources
C) an ethical analysis of the class of inequalities as it relates to one's empirical observations
D) an impartial judgement based on prior knowledge, observation, and experience of the particular inequality

Question 22

In most countries, despite their lesser social status, women enjoy a longer lifespan than men do. This is possibly because of genetic factors but also possibly because of lower rates of risky behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol use. Why is this longer lifespan not necessarily a health inequity?

A) One cannot assume that a health inequality that benefits a socially disadvantaged group is morally acceptable.
B) An unjust distribution of health might accidentally happen to benefit those in socially superior positions.
C) If one deems health inequities as socially acceptable, they do not qualify as being unjust.
D) A health inequality that benefits the socially disadvantaged cannot be assumed to have any real benefits.

Question 23

Which of the following is illustrated by the example that cardiovascular disease may result from both "just" causes, such as diet, and "unjust" causes as stressful working conditions?

A) Many health problems have single causal etiologies that can be identified
B) Sometimes behaviors do not represent an element of free choice.
C) It is often difficult to isolate a single, overriding causal factor in health problems
D) It is impossible to quantify the relative contribution of each determinant

Question 24

Which of the following is required to determine whether a specific situation is inequitable or not?

A) a comparison of multiple individuals within a single population
B) the measurement and comparison of the status of at least two populations
C) a measurement of similar individuals within at least two populations
D) the comparison of appropriate populations using statistically valid measurements

Question 25

Which of the following factors deserve the least amount of scrutiny when analyzing health inequalities among socially important groups?

A) hair color
B) education level
C) gender
D) socioeconomic status

Question 26

Which of the following is established to serve explicitly as a reference against populations that can be compared and act indirectly as an ideal achievable target by all groups?

A) distribution group
B) comparison group
C) subpopulation group
D) socially important group

Question 27

Which of the following does the amount of inequity depend on the most?

A) the choice of the comparison group
B) the total population's average
C) the best-off versus the worst-off
D) the independently defined target rate

Question 28

If population A had a prevalence of 50 cases of a disease and population B had 40 cases of the same disease, how would the resulting rate difference be calculated?

A) The addition of population A's prevalence measurement from population B's prevalence measurement.
B) The subtraction of population A's prevalence measurement from population B's prevalence measurement.
C) The multiplication of population A's prevalence measurement from population B's prevalence measurement.
D) The division of population A's prevalence measurement from population B's prevalence measurement.

Question 29

Which of the following best describes when the choice of the appropriate measure is particularly important to consider?

A) while assessing health inequalities over time, as well as the relationship between distributive considerations and aggregative ones
B) if the relationship between the distributive considerations and the aggregative ones shows large differences in measurement
C) while evaluating health inequalities over population distributions, as well as the relationship between subpopulation inequalities
D) if interventions that improve aggregate health in an entire population simultaneously increase inequalities between the more and less advantaged members of the subpopulations

Question 30

Between 1950 and 1998, overall infant mortality in the United States declined for all racial groups. The absolute reduction in infant deaths during this period was almost 50% higher among blacks than whites. While the rate difference decreased during this time period, during the same time period the rate ratio between the two groups increased. How do the statistics of the rate difference and the rate ratio compare the benefit to the black racial group?

A) The rate difference indicates that blacks benefited less, but the rate ratio indicates that blacks benefited more.
B) The rate difference and the rate ratio both indicate that blacks benefited more than whites.
C) The rate difference indicates that blacks benefited more, but the rate ratio indicates that blacks benefited less.
D) The rate difference and the rate ratio both indicate that blacks benefited less than whites.

Question 31

Even if we can reach an agreement that a measurable health inequality exists, that it constitutes an inequity, and that we need to address it, why do several ethics considerations play a role in deciding among possible interventions for health inequalities?

A) There is no single rationale for determining the most ethically sound way to reduce or eliminate a health inequity.
B) Multiple opinions are needed to assess properly the allocation of health care resources.
C) Health inequalities are by their nature immeasurable by traditional statistical methods.
D) Everyone needs health care and no individual or group should receive disproportionately better or worse care than another

Question 32

Which of the following describes healthcare that specifically targets a disadvantaged social group, such as the homeless, on the grounds that unequal allocation of resources might be necessary to achieve equal health outcomes?

A) linear equality
B) horizontal equality
C) proportionate equality
D) vertical equality

Question 33

Epidemiologic evidence indicates that differences in socioeconomic status, nutrition, exposure to pathogens and toxic substances, and health care early in life can have a profound impact on health status and inequalities later in life. This raises the possibility of reducing these resulting health inequalities in the long term by investing heavily in pre- and postnatal health care, perhaps at the expense of health care much later in life. Which of the following is being illustrated in this example?

A) It is preferable for differing subpopulations to receive social resources based on merit.
B) An individual should not benefit from an equal allocation of social resources until a much later date.
C) Healthcare becomes prohibitively expensive as a person that did not receive proper healthcare as a child ages.
D) Some subpopulations may be more or less deserving of direct intervention to reduce health inequalities.

Question 34

One way of determining whether a health inequality qualifies as an inequity is through reference to the relative social position of different populations.