Critical Health Psychology: Deconstructing and Addressing Health Disparities

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key concepts, theories, and historical studies related to health disparities, health equity, and the social determinants of health as presented in Chapter 5 of 'Critical Health Psychology'.

Health disparities (or health inequalities)

The unequal distribution of health status, disease, and mortality across different social groups or populations.

Health inequities

Social inequalities in health that are considered unjust, avoidable, and unacceptable because they reflect a lack of equal opportunities for good health to some groups.

The Black Report (1980)

A landmark investigation in Great Britain, chaired by Sir Douglas Black, which documented higher mortality and morbidity rates among lower social classes despite universal health care.

Whitehall Study

A large longitudinal cohort study of British Civil Servants that found coronary heart disease deaths varied systematically with occupational status.

SES-health gradient

The phenomenon where mortality increases gradually with each reduction in occupational category or socio-economic status.

Social Determinants of Health Model

A model developed by Whitehead and Dahlgren (1991) showing that health is shaped by individual lifestyle factors, community networks, living/working conditions, and distal societal conditions.

Individual-based model

An approach to health inequalities that emphasizes 'downstream' factors, focusing on individual risk factors and maladaptive health behaviors like smoking or poor nutrition.

Social-contextual model

A 'upstream' approach that focuses on the social, economic, political, and environmental factors that contribute to health and disease.

Structural determinants of health inequities

Distal factors including governance, macroeconomic policies, social policies, and the socio-economic position shaped by class, gender, and ethnicity.

Intermediary determinants of health

Proximal factors such as material circumstances (living and working conditions), biological factors, and psychosocial mechanisms that link social structure to health.

Lifestyle drift

A tendency in health psychology to focus on individual behavior modification while ignoring the unequal social conditions that created those behaviors.

Fundamental cause theory

A theory by Link and Phelan suggesting that social conditions like SES persist as causes of inequality because they provide access to flexible resources to avoid risks.

Environmental justice

A movement and policy goal stating that no group, regardless of race or SES, should bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences from industrial or commercial operations.

Health lifestyles

Collective patterns of health-related behaviors based on choices available to people according to their life chances or social situations.

Stigma

A fundamental cause of population health disparities defined as the labeling, stereotyping, separation, and status loss in a context where power is exercised.

Universal health coverage

A critically essential health policy that provides people with quality health services and protection from financial hardship due to healthcare costs.

Welfare state

A system in democratic countries providing built-in safety nets (benefits) to redistribute resources and reduce resource inequality.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR)

An approach combining research and advocacy that engages community members and researchers equally in decision-making to build health equity.

Social capital

Social relationships and cohesive community structures that can protect health and serve as a mechanism linking structural determinants to intermediary determinants.

Empowerment

Opportunities for disadvantaged groups to bring about health-related changes through collective action and the redistribution of power within society.