Structure of Society and Social Policy - Essay Example

The relevance of this trait to programs for the elderly is that the high percentage of young people shifts government policy priorities away from the needs of older persons (Schulz, 2005). Creating new jobs for young people is much more of a state problem than meeting the service needs of older people. Government attention in health care is also more focused on reducing infant mortality rates than in developing geriatric medical care. The family is the social unit with primary responsibility for the care.

This is consistent with social, cultural, and religious mores. Although reliance on the family to care for elderly members has subsided in recent years, for reasons discussed later, there is a pervasive understanding that government policy should be designed to bolster the role of family care (LaVeist, 2002). Low class people often incur higher out-of-pocket costs for medical care and have fewer choices among health care providers. Theoretically critics accepts this to result in fewer health care contacts, far fewer of the routine examinations that are so important for early detection of potential problems, and greater delay in seeking care when ill.

Research has found this to be true (Schulz, 2005). Considering the ultimate cost of poor health, it is also uneconomic. The issue of poverty, a major contributing factor to poor health and one that impacts more severely on poor people, is simply too far beyond our purview to treat here. However, it bears remarking that some of the recommendations, in fact, poverty reduction measures. For example, policies that would lead to a reduction in drug and alcohol abuse would also lead to a reduction in poverty, for just as substance abuse is partly a result of poverty, so is it also partly a cause.

Even more effective as poverty reduction devices are policy proposals yet to appear. Although their primary purpose is to relieve other problems, measures such as family planning services, teen pregnancy prevention programs, parent training classes, infant stimulation programs and early childhood education all attack poverty at its roots. Good education and high paid job leads to social mobility and allows a person to maintain high standards of living and receive better medical help (Schulz, 2005).2. Social class determines the level of medical care and dietary patterns available for people.

Life span has long been the thermometer used to measure the health of the public. Only in this case, assuming quality of life is maintained, elevation indicates better health. We have come to expect greater longevity as one of the benefits of continued economic development. A fall in life expectancies is cause for alarm. Fortunately, this has happened only rarely. Poverty makes it more difficult to lead a healthy life. Shelter and diet may be inadequate. Neighborhood air quality may be poor.

Life is generally more stressful. Few people consciously choose to live a life of poverty, but people can and do make unhealthy lifestyle choices. People who are poor and less educated tend to make them more often, perhaps because of lesser understanding of the possible consequences (Schulz, 2005). More likely it is because some of those choices provide considerable utility, particularly in the very short run and particularly to persons whose long-run expectations are low. Poor nutrition can be deadly (LaVeist, 2002).

The traditional diet,