Middle Adulthood Health
Middle age has many obstacles which failure to handle them well may contribute to health crisis. At this age, people are running through balancing their personal growth, achieving their life goals, and dealing with developmental responsibilities. All the tasks that one is expected to take up have resulted in this period being described as the most difficult in a human’s life span. Some of the most common health concerns that people are likely to experience during this age include; diabetes, coronary heart disease, mental disorders, cancer hypertension, and strokes, among others. However, these health problems are said to be different for everyone based on various demographic factors. That means health crisis at middle age is not a common occurrence for everyone.
Race and socioeconomic status are the top factors that significantly impact the health status of individuals. People from different social levels or status have lives that differ in almost every aspect (Braveman et al 2015). Their education experiences, childhood activities, professionals, family, leisure activities, neighborhood, and health care opportunities are different. Taking the United States as an example, the race is also a determinant of the social, economic status. The whites rank high in the social, financial situation while blacks at the bottom. Due to this reason, blacks at middle adulthood have a higher mortality rate than the whites. Rich people can get the appropriate health care when they need it because they can afford it. They will survive a disease like cancer that requires a large sum of money for treatment, but a poor sick person in the same position may succumb to it. As people age, their diet is a delicate part of their health, and maintaining a balanced diet requires money. Therefore, how much money one has can determine their health concerns.
Education is another critical social determinant of health. Education gives access to a multitude of resources both material and non-material such as stable income, healthier lifestyles and provides pathway to safe neighborhood all which enhances health. Stable incomes allow individuals to accumulate wealth that can be used to attain improved healthcare opportunities. Education also promotes health behavioral among individuals which improves reasoning and provides one with a wide range of abilities which can be used to attain health living. For instance adults with higher level of education are likely to avoid unhealthy behaviors like smoking because they are aware of the end dangers of smoking.in addition, education provides people with social- psychological pathways which offer social support and teaches one how to deal with day to day stress and daily Hassles. Therefore, some of the health inequalities can be explained by the disparities in education levels. .
Social workers should incorporate different demographic factors like their education level and economic status in their client’s clinical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Putting demographic factors in consideration means using the client’s personal background information to examine their health problems and understand them before proceeding to treatment. For instance, a person from a low-income family with a mental disorder may require different treatment from as to the one from a wealthy home because their causes of mental disturbance are different. Social workers are supposed to put in mind that the needs of the elderly under their care are varied and require different attention.
References
Braveman, P. A., Cubbin, C., Egerter, S., Chideya, S., Marchi, K. S., Metzler, M., & Posner, S. (2005). Socioeconomic status in health research: one size does not fit all. Jama, 294(22), 2879-2888.
Fergusson, D. M., Lynskey, M. T., & Horwood, L. J. (1997). Attentional difficulties in middle childhood and psychosocial outcomes in youadulthood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(6), 633-644.
Hooker, K., & Kaus, C. R. (1994). Health-related possible selves in young and middle adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 9(1), 126.
House, J. S., Kessler, R. C., Herzog, A. R., Mero, R. P., Kinney, A. M., & Breslow, M. J. (1990). Age, socioeconomic status, and health. The Milbank Quarterly, 68(3), 383-411.