User:Joshuapak11/Poverty and health in the United States

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Poverty and physical health:

Poverty can affect health outcomes throughout a person's entire life. The affect may not always be expressed while an individual is impoverished. Mothers who are in poverty during their pregnancies may experience more health risks during their delivery, and their newborn may experience more health risks and markedly more behavioral problems during their development. '''Research has shown that low-income families and their children face the most pressing struggles when it comes to receiving medical attention. Since its most recent reauthorization in 2018, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) aims at improving healthcare coverage for vulnerable families experiencing homelessness. This includes youth up to 26 years of age, pregnant women, and new mothers. The initiatives for youth, as well as the automatic enrollment at birth, together represent a significant step towards enhancing effective health care access for families in this population.'''

To elaborate more, children in poverty have worse health outcomes during adulthood. This effect is especially pronounced for specific ailments, such as heart disease and diabetes. The impact persists even if a youth escapes poverty by adulthood, suggesting that the stress of poverty encountered during childhood or adolescence has a lasting effect. Previous research has identified the labor environments of the impoverished as more likely to contain risk factors for illness and disability relative to their non-impoverished counterparts. The implication is that the unique stresses of life within an impoverished community contribute to poorer health outcomes, even if the resident does not engage in any specific behavior detrimental to their health. Early into the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, being impoverished was associated with an increased likelihood of contracting COVID-19, as well as dying from it.

Poverty and mental health:

After the 1980s decision to close long-term mental health-focused residential facilities, individuals suffered without adequate support systems and without access to community-based services. These individuals experienced unemployment, homelessness, and exposure to the criminal justice system, further exacerbating their mental illness.

Poverty in general also has a complex relationship with mental health. Being in poverty may itself provoke a condition of elevated emotional stress, known as "poverty distress". Poverty is also a precursor or risk factor for mental illness, particularly mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Schizophrenia is also strongly associated with poverty, occurring most frequently in the poorest classes of people all over the world, especially in more unequal countries. In a sort of reciprocating relationship, having mental illness is a major risk factor for being in poverty. Having a mental illness may inhibit a person's ability to work or deter employees from hiring them.

Health care policy:

Despite the cost of healthcare being an obstacle for those with relatively low incomes, research suggests that insurance coverage will not dramatically change outcomes related to physical health. Access to Medicaid for low-income adults aided in diagnosis of metabolic disease, saw a reduction in diagnosis of mental health disorders, and reduced incurrence of "catastrophic medical costs" by patients dramatically. While these positive effects were observed, outcomes for heart disease, diabetes, and other physical health characteristics were not meaningfully improved. It has been posited that one year, the duration of the study, is an insufficient length to fully observe the divergent health outcomes that would be characteristic of an experiment with a lengthier time-table. Also, minorities have an excess amount of deaths due to diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease compared to whites.

While Medicaid does provide diverse healthcare services to vulnerable populations, many are not eligible to receive these. '''To receive Medicaid, an individual must show proof of income, citizenship status, and residency. Unhoused individuals often struggle to provide such documentation, or they may not meet the standards and income thresholds, thus limiting their access to Medicaid and the essential healthcare services that follow.'''

'''Even if they are able to receive Medicaid coverage, homeless individuals are sometimes turned away by healthcare providers unwilling to treat them. For their part, health care providers cite the difficulties of reimbursement rates and other administrative burdens.'''

 Recommendations to further improve healthcare access: 

One recommendation to address the inequity of healthcare for the poor is to take community-based action. One example of this is county health councils in Tennessee. These are volunteer groups from the community who assess health inequities within their county and decide what policies to implement. Another idea is to implement community-oriented primary care where physicians consider the environment and culture of the patient to further their health. To improve housing, weatherization programs are recommended to refurbish poor housing to be more health friendly.

Health care clinics, including free clinics, can help individuals with transportation and health care costs alleviate issues that come up like transportation and financial constraints.