Discussion 1: PUB-655 Topic 4 Diseases that disproportionately affect the poor are typically prioritized by governments and donors.
Discussion 1: PUB-655 Topic 4 Diseases that disproportionately affect the poor are typically prioritized by governments and donors.
Topic 4 DQ 1
Assessment Description
Diseases that disproportionately affect the poor are typically prioritized by governments and donors. Some people believe that disorders such as depression are problems of the middle class and the affluent, or represent a “medicalization of misery,” and, therefore, do not deserve a share of scarce resources. What is the evidence linking poverty with mental disorders? How might poverty interact with mental health?
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Poverty and Mental Disorders
Poverty and lower socioeconomic status are social determinants of health that cause notable disparities in health. There is a considerable relationship between poverty and mental health illnesses with the biggest disease burden being experienced by the poverty-stricken. Poverty can occur at different levels depending on social, environmental, and economic factors and each level has implications for mental health. These include micro-level poverty which addresses individual attributes such as psychosocial factors like malnutrition, meso-level poverty determined by circumstances in an individual’s community or neighborhood such as local poverty, and macro-level poverty for issues such as income inequality (Marbin et al., 2022). These levels provide guidelines for the formulation of targeted mitigation policies and strategies.
Poverty has been considered as a cause and result consequence of mental illness. The causation of mental illness is attributed to poverty-associated social stresses, stigma, trauma, and limited access to healthcare (Knifton et al., 2020). The poor are also more likely to engage in unhealthy habits such as drug abuse which play a role in mental disorders. Some of the psychiatric illnesses that have been commonly linked with poverty are depressive illness and anxiety disorders (Ridley et al., 2020). On the other hand, mental illness can result in poverty due to consequent unemployment or loss of employment for those already employed, reduced productivity and income, and fragmentation of social relationships (Knifton et al., 2020). Thus measures that address poverty not only result in better health outcomes but also economic benefits.
The incidence of mental illnesses can be markedly reduced through the implementation of targeted strategies and policies that bridge socioeconomic gaps in society. These measures include antipoverty programs such as housing, nutritional support, cash transfers, and other effective financial inclusion programs (Marbin et al., 2022). This may necessitate engagement in scientific research to better understand the subject and devise sustainable and applicable solutions.
References
Knifton, L., & Inglis, G. (2020). Poverty and mental health: Policy, practice and research implications. BJPsych Bulletin, 44(5), 193–196. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2020.78
Marbin, D., Gutwinski, S., Schreiter, S., & Heinz, A. (2022). Perspectives in poverty and mental health. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.975482
Ridley, M., Rao, , , , Gm., Schilbach, F., & Patel, V. (2020). Poverty, depression, and anxiety: Causal evidence and mechanisms. Science (New York, N.Y.), 370(6522), eaay0214. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay0214