February 2017 – Page 7

Week 4 Society and Lifestyles

Disability and Inclusion Today we got the opportunity to look further into inclusion and disability. An interesting part of the lecture was when we learned about the universal design, this started off as an architecture term, where the design of buildings would be structured around everyones ability to use them. These designs could include ramps … Continue reading Week 4 Society and Lifestyles →

Disability and Inclusion

Today we got the opportunity to look further into inclusion and disability. An interesting part of the lecture was when we learned about the universal design, this started off as an architecture term, where the design of buildings would be structured around everyones ability to use them. These designs could include ramps instead of stairs because everyone is able to use a ramp whereas not everyone is able to use the stairs. This design allows everyone to use the structure without feeling left out, therefore promoting the feeling of inclusion.

Last week I mentioned that I was looking at Allport’s Scale, and this week I got to apply this scale to real life situations of discrimination of disability. I found this really interesting and valuable as I could apply the scale to real life situations to allow me to understand the steps of the scale in more detail and form that information into a table.

Allport's Scale

This lecture was really interesting today, and I found the seminar particularly useful because we had to read situations and identify whether discrimination was taking place – all of the situations were to do with children in a school environment and how the teacher felt with it. With the situations we worked together, in groups, to find out whether the teacher was discriminating against them because of their disability and then we found ways to accommodate the children to make them feel included in the situation. This was very useful as as a future teacher all children need to feel included in every situation, following the Scottish curriculum’s GIRFEC policy (getting it right for every child). As a teacher, every child, no matter whether they have a disability or not, should have the same opportunity as every other child in the class.

Society and Lifestyles

In this weeks lecture we focused on ‘Risk Behaviours’ that have had an effect on society. I found this lecture very interesting and enjoyable, as when I become a teacher I would like to be able to spot behavioural differences in the children, for multiple reasons and do my best to help that child. Some … Continue reading Society and Lifestyles →

Behaviours leading to intentional and unintentional injuries.
Tobacco use
Alcohol and drug abuse
Sexual behaviours resulting in unintended pregnancy and STDs
Dietary patterns leading to disease
Lack of physical activity

Throughout the lecture we were also talking about the four levels of influence, which are Individual/family, school/ peers, community, policy and society. We learned that these factors can have and impact on our health and wellbeing and can increase our mortality rates.

In the tutorial we were asked to read the ‘Glasgow Effect’ document, which was very interesting to read. This document focused on three main cities, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. It looked into the strong links that income have on morality and poor health. The document focuses on the rates of income in the cities previously mentioned, however it highlights what the rates are in Glasgow.

For example in Glasgow the percentage of premature deaths was 30% higher than in Manchester and Liverpool. For men under the age of sixty-five, early deaths were seen as a result of alcohol and drug abuse.

After reading this document I came to the conclusion that Scots are not the healthiest people and this is having bad consequences on our nation as a result. As linking with the income rates in the ‘Glasgow Effect’ document, people who live in more deprived areas, (34%), are more likely to have poor health. There are many factors which can link with Scots having bad health, however a significant one would be people who don’t live a physical lifestyle. For example only 26% of all adults meet the criteria for completing vigorous physical activity.

References:

Glasgow Centre for Population Health (2010) Investigating a ‘Glasgow Effect. Glasgow: Glasgow Centre for Population Health.

The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect The Glasgow Effect refers to the poor health levels in the Scottish city of Glasgow and its surrounding areas compared to other cities in the UK and Europe. However, both Manchester and Liverpool suffer from similar statistics. As part of our Society and Lifestyle input we were to read a document titled … Continue reading The Glasgow Effect →

Society and Lifestyles – At risk behaviours

This week we discussed at risk behaviours and effects on society. At first, we had a quiz which was to do with the life expectancies of both genders. The average life expectancy of a woman is 81.1 years and a man is 77.1. These can be varied due to behavioural and hereditary reasons. We also … Continue reading Society and Lifestyles – At risk behaviours →

The Glasgow Effect

‘The Glasgow Effect’ is a term scientists came up with to investigate why Scotland – and in particular the areas around Glasgow – has a higher death rate than other parts of the United Kingdom. The ‘Glasgow Effect’ outlines the most probable causes that could cause this higher death rate. The report compared Glasgow with … Continue reading The Glasgow Effect →

This trend has been increasing over time and is found throughout all of the adult age groups – but especially that of the younger working age and is seen more within the people from a poorer social background, which is of course very concerning.

The death rates in Glasgow show that the leading cause of mortality is suicide, which when compared to Liverpool and Manchester, is almost 70% higher! The deaths linked to drugs and alcohol misuse is almost 50% higher in Glasgow . This is linked to my earlier post where I talk about Scottishness and Scottish culture. With the rise of binge drinking and party drugs in urban areas, the death rate has also risen. This could explain why he death rate is more predominant in the younger working class. Linked with a poor diet and lack of exercise, causing obesity, heart disease and diabetes. This Scottish Culture is killing us.

Scotland’s nickname within Europe is ‘The sick man of Europe’ which is quite shocking in itself. Does this mean that just because I am Scottish, I will get sick? That I will die earlier than young people elsewhere? The Scottish Culture and lifestyle plays a huge role in this young mortality, but it is indeed also related to our socio-economic status.

In order to ensure we live longer – we must make conscious changes to the way we live our life.

Are Scottish People ‘Unhealthy’?

Are Scottish people ‘unhealthy’? A question posed to me in this mornings lecture. My immediate response was, perhaps we are unhealthy. But how is it possible to generalize with so many factors impacting on this decision. With factors ranging from education, to wealth to socio-economic factors. When we think about the concept of ‘Scottishness’, We … Continue reading Are Scottish People ‘Unhealthy’? →

When we think about the concept of ‘Scottishness’, We think of things like ‘Irn Bru’, ‘Haggis’ and deep fried … well – anything. When we look at this we can probably tell that Scottish people are not known to have the healthiest of diets. The Scottish Government has found that 28% of children are at risk of being ‘overweight’.

Also, compared to the rest of the UK and the rest of Europe – Scotland is deemed ‘less healthy’. This again could be because of our Scottish culture. But there are other factors influencing this too!

Hereditary health conditions – passed down through family genes – could be one such factor to this. Things such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease can run through a family’s blood. Combined with the typical ‘unhealthy’ diet and lack of exercise that us Scots tend to have – can amplify the severity and fatalities linked to these diseases. According to data publishes by the World Health Organisation – heart disease accounted for 9.66% of total deaths in France during 2014. The UK however, 17.21% of the total deaths were labelled to heart disease. Although the change is less that one percent, it is possible that this is down to the healthier diet that French people are known to have.

So although many cases of these diseases could be hereditary – I think it is fair to say that Scottish people could be labelled as ‘unhealthy’ due to the factors of a poorer diet, and a lack of exercise. However, in retrospect – It is my firm opinion that it would be unfair, and also uneducated to presume this when there are so many factors that influence this argument.

So my answer? It is my opinion that Scottish people could be considered ‘unhealthy’.

The Glasgow Effect

ggow

The Glasgow Effect refers to the unexplained poor health and low life expectancy of those living in Glasgow , Scotland, compared to the rest of the United Kingdom and Europe. This investigation was put in place to look at and compare Glasgows socio-economic state and mortality rates. This then challenged the question ‘Why does Glasgow have similar levels of deprivation as other cities but appear to have the highest mortality rates?’ The cities that were compared of equally deprived areas around the UK to Glasgow were Liverpool and Manchester.

After completing research on all three of the cities the researchers came to the conclusion that each city was equally income deprived. It highlighted that 1 in 5 potential workers in Glasgow are on incapacity benefit showing the high level of deprivation state in Glasgow. In addition to this, the research suggested that the mortality rates for people under 65 years old was almost 30% higher than those living in cities like Liverpool and Manchester. This proves that it is not only the poor level of deprivation that is causing the mortality rates to be higher.

Following on from this, it appears that the higher mortality rates could be in connection with bad diets and lack of exercise which leads to an unhealthy lifestyle for those living in Glasgow. From looking at the death rates in Glasgow it shows that the death rate caused by suicide in is 70% more than Liverpool and Manchester. Due to lung cancer the death rates in Glasgow are 27% more than the other cities. A figure of great importance is death rates due to alcohol and drug related are almost 50% higher in Glasgow than the other cities mentioned. I find this statistic completely shocking, we now live in a society where people swear by the saying drink to get drunk or not drink at all. Scotland’s culture has now been redeemed for their drinking state and the amount of people who binge drink is becoming increasingly worrying. Poor health choices in this culture are spreading through generations, children and young adults are looking up-to their parents and ultimately copying and coping with their choices.

Scotland has now been named ‘The sick man of Europe’ and I personally feel to have this title over my head is intimidating. The Glasgow Effect may well be related to socio-economic status however, unhealthy lifestyles and the alcohol consumption plays a huge role in the high mortality rates Scotland receives.

At Risk Behaviour’s In Society 13/02/2017

Reflecting back on this weeks input in society and lifestyle, I learnt a lot about the behaviours and actions people take that can put themselves or others at risk. I was astonished to find out that men and women on average live until 77.1 and 81.1 years, retrospectively in Scotland and this may be down … Continue reading At Risk Behaviour’s In Society 13/02/2017 →

Is Scotland Healthy?

Many people will argue the matter that Scotland is in fact a ‘healthy country’ or an ‘unhealthy country’, people will take into account their own health without looking at the […]

Many people will argue the matter that Scotland is in fact a ‘healthy country’ or an ‘unhealthy country’, people will take into account their own health without looking at the people around them. From analysing and taking into account the statistics from the Scottish Health Survey I have made generalisations and assumptions based on the question ‘Is Scotland Healthy?’.

Firstly, the Scottish Health Survey proposed the question ‘Would you describe your health as good or very good, bad or very bad?’ From a sample of 4894 adults, 74% of them assessed their health as good and very good with only 8% of them admitting to having a bad or very bad health. Looking at the children statistics out of 1139 children, 95% of children agreed they had a good or very good health and an astounding 1% admitted that they had a bad health. From looking at these statistics I am amazed at the amount of people who have openly admitted to having a healthy diet when Scotland has got such a high mortality rate with a consequence of this being due to peoples health. This does not mean however, that some of these people do not have a good health. Many people in Scotland will have a good healthy lifestyle and likes to exploit that however, I believe some of these people are covering up their bad health.

Mental Health is the first category highlighted in the survey and I feel this is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. It is agreed that around 1 in 10 adults had two or more symptoms of depression. I personally believe mental health is becoming a huge impact on peoples health in Scotland, many people I know have suffered depression in various ways at some point in their life. 5% of the sample has also admitted to attempting suicide at some point or harming themselves one way or another. Many other issues of health was covered such as child obesity and dental health, they all highlighted in some way this was still happening in Scotland. The support for mental health is forever growing from call lines to help groups in spite of this I still feel mental health is a problem in Scotland that is dampening peoples health.

By looking at the diet of the sample, it highlighted that only 3.2 on average of adults ate the recommended portions of fruit and veg a day and children eating 2.7 portions a day. Another statistic that came to my attention is that over 25% of adults in Scotland in 2013 were classed as obese. In Scotland it is becoming severe issue that every second shop you pass is a take away of some sort with so much of these being fatty foods. Around 34% of children admitted to eating marsbar cakes at least twice a week. This shows that many children follow in the foot steps of their parents, the full family suffer because the parents are unwilling to maintain a healthy diet. It is vital to maintain a healthy diet to avoid suffering from heart diseases and various other health problems. In Scotland it is clear that many peoples diet is very unhealthy.

A final aspect is the lack of exercise in Scotland. The survey shows that 64% of adults claim to meet the recommended weekly guidelines of exercise. I feel that this statistic is a positive one as it shows that more than half of the sample admits to exercising weekly and being active. Although it can be argued that half of the sample is not meeting this guideline which shows that many people are not taking in the recommendations of physical health and this will show on their overall health. Again, along with your diet, it is clear that if your parents lack motivation and are unwilling to exercise it is more than likely that you will follow this and not complete the recommended weekly exercise. I personally feel Scotlands physical health needs to increase because of the lack of people attending for example games hall facilities which are now being closed down and giving less opportunities for children to exercise.

Overall, taking into account all of these statistics I personally feel that if you have been brought up around people who are unwilling to eat healthy or exercise this will pass down the line and ultimately decrease your motivation to become healthy. I think it is fair to state that Scotland is not in fact healthy nor unhealthy.

At Risk Behaviours and Society

Today’s lecture focused on how at risk behaviours and the society and culture that a child is brought up in can impact on their future and development. I found this lecture extremely interesting, relevant and important. As a student teacher, it is crucial that we inform our young people of the types of behaviours that can put them at risk and how it is so important that they are able to make their own choices but hopefully ones that ensure that they are protected, healthy and safe in order for them to flourish in life. The six at risk behaviours that we learned about were: lack of physical activity, diet, injuries, use of tobacco, sexual behaviours and alcohol and drug use. It is said that these at risk behaviours can put an individual into serious danger and therefore it is extremely important that we as educators are aware of these behaviours and the consequences that follow.

The society and culture that a child is brought up in can have a serious impact on their behaviour. For any person, the area that they are brought up in is part of who they are as it can impact on their choices, career and future life. For example, if a child is brought up in an area where there are very little job prospects, low income, drugs and alcohol misuse is common then this will have an impact on their health and wellbeing. There has been links between deprivation and health and therefore enhances the fact that society and culture plays a crucial role in a child’s development.

Furthermore, we had to read and analyse “The Glasgow Effect” in relation to the question we were earlier asked “Are Scottish people healthy?”. The study compared Glasgow and two other main cities: Liverpool and Manchester. They choose to compare these three cities because the levels of deprivation in each city were very similar. The study looks into how morality can be linked to poor health and income. From the study, we have concluded that Scotland, in particular Glasgow are more unhealthy than the rest of the UK. However, premature deaths were in Glasgow are more than 30% higher as well as all deaths being around 15% higher than the other cities. I think from doing some further reading I have discovered that there must be other factors contributing to morality other than just poor health and income, factors such as alcohol and drug consumption should be taken into account. In relation to the question “Are Scottish people healthy?” I think it is clear to see that currently we are not a healthy country however, we are improving year by year but a lot still needs to be done to improve the overall health statistics. It showed me that we as educators can act as a role model to children and encourage them to make better decisions for them to have a healthier and better future. Its important to want to be that person who can help change society and it is best to start with the newer generation because they can be that change.