Health – Page 7 – UWS BA ePDPs

At risk behaviours- ‘The Glasgow effect’

The ‘Glasgow effect’ basically talks about the unexplained link between poor health and the low life expectancy of people living in Glasgow. This compares to those who live in the rest of Great Britain and Europe. Despite, lower income levels are usually associated with poor health and a shorter life expectancy, it has been proven … Continue reading At risk behaviours- ‘The Glasgow effect’ →

The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect is a term used to describe the apparent relationship between Glasgow and poor health, beyond the levels of poor health which are to be expected due to levels of socioeconomic deprivation. The document discussing an investigation by David Walsh, Neil Bendel, Richard Jones and Phil Hanlon into this effect looks at the relationship … Continue reading The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect

The Glasgow Effect focuses on the different health outcomes in UK cities. The main question The Glasgow Effect looks at is why the health outcomes in UK cities differ. Why is it that equally deprived cities have different outcomes? Scotland has a very poor health profile compared to the rest of Europe. In Scotland, we … Continue reading The Glasgow Effect →

Scotland has a very poor health profile compared to the rest of Europe. In Scotland, we have the highest mortality rates and lowest life expectancy in the west of Europe. This makes Scotland the most unhealthy country in the UK.

Scotland is well known for its fried food, Irn Bru and excessive drinking, which have massive impacts on a person’s health. Society play’s a big part in Scotland culture. It could be said that Scottish people may be forced to eat fattening foods and drink alcohol because of the massive influence around them. For example, parents could lead a child to eat unhealthily, and peer pressure may lead people to drink excessively. Looking at deprivation in Scotland, fruit and vegetables can be expensive which may lead or force people to pick the unhealthier option. For example, you can get a burger at McDonald’s for 99 pence.

Looking at the deprivation profiles of Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester we can see that they are very similar, Manchester being the lowest at 23.4% and Glasgow being the highest at 24.8%. This is very small difference in percentage, but Scotland’s health profile still suffers.

Comparing mortality profiles of Glasgow to that of Liverpool and Manchester, we can see that mortality in Glasgow was 14% higher in all deaths. ‘Excess mortality’ in Glasgow has showed that 2,090 people under the age of 65 in excess. It has showed that almost half of excessive deaths in Scotland are related to alcohol and drugs.

From looking at The Glasgow Effect and the Scottish survey, I have determined that I do not believe Scotland is a healthy country. According to the Scottish survey, men drink 5.2 units of alcohol and day and women 2.8 units a day. This is over the daily recommended amount adults should consume therefore this could be a major factor in the death rate in Scotland.

Inclusion and Equality

On the 7 February we looked at Inclusion and Equality with a focus on disability. We looked at human rights, ways to promote equality, potential barriers to equality and how to overcome them. I felt that I learned that at least 15% of the world’s population has a significant, long term, physical or mental impairment that can and usually disable them from taking part in the usual educational, social and economic activity within their own community. I believe that I understood the main concepts, theories and ideas that were discussed. I was very vocal whenever we were having any discussions during the tutorial when we were made to think about these concepts and what they mean. I feel that my skills have developed in the fact that I have a better understanding of these issues now than say what I did when I was younger. One skill that I need to develop is being more vocal in the lecture itself. When we are in a tutorial I am good with speaking up but in the lecture I am completely different and almost don’t want to say anything just because there’s a lot more people in the lecture hall. To address this development I will try to build up my confidence so when it comes to the lecture I will be more willing to contribute vocally in the lecture.

Society and Lifestyles Monday 16 January 2017

Today’s lesson revolved around looking at religion and seeing the different points of view of what people think religion is and what it does. We looked at different types of religion as a social institution. We looked at different theories of religion. An example of this is Bronislaw Malinowski who believed that there were scientific laws of culture could also be applied to religion in that religion serves particular needs of individuals and society. The theories was the area I felt I struggled to grasp and understand fully. To fix this I will read up on the theories and hopefully after looking over it I will eventually being able to increase my knowledge on these theories. I feel even though I struggled with the theories I still came out knowing an awful lot more than I did when I walked in as before today my knowledge on religion was very limited and made me think about what I believe the definition of religion is. This can relate to my general understanding of how much religion actually impacts me and society without me even realising. Like I said early I think I need to improve my knowledge and understanding of the different theories of religion and also become more vocal in group tasks and trying to answer out more.