Custom essays on How useful are definitions of poverty in helping us to understand the impact of being poor on health?

With an aim to provide durable basis for the analysis of poverty it is necessary to understand with the meaning of the concept “poverty” and to define, for what aims it is used for. There are at least three conceptions of definition of poverty in world practice – absolute, deprivative and subjective. Absolute conception is oriented to measuring of consumption and accepted as basic working conception in most countries with a transitional economy. Conception of deprivation is the European standard of measuring of poverty. Most countries of European Union mainly oriented to measuring of poverty as a social exception. The poor, in obedience to this conception, are people, whose standard of life substantially differs from a standard, prevailing in one or another society. Subjective conception attributes to the poor those, who felt poor themselves subjectively. These conceptions do not eliminate, and rather complement each other: conception of absolute poverty, vividly speaking, is the core of deprivation, which, in its turn, is the component of conception of subjective poverty.
In our view, poverty – it is not simply economic, but the socially cultural phenomenon. It is relative and determined by the generally accepted standards of consumption and lifestyle that are accepted within the framework of this culture to consider poverty, but not the absolute level of need. Poverty shows up, from one side, through the certain standards of consumption and, from other – through satisfaction of basic necessities, by the social position et cetera. As it was above mentioned, poverty is often determined not simply in terms of profit, but in the concepts of degree, with what the poor is excluded from a lifestyle which is generally accepted and expected in society today, in degree how it is hard for them to receive necessary aid in medical sphere, for example. In other words, it is the multidimensional phenomenon, properties of which is possible to study and measure only through the row of factors. By virtue of multidimensional power of the phenomenon, it must be studied from different parties, in the dialog of approaches and points of view.
According to statistical data presented in Pedace’s (2004) article by the most essential determinant of poor health, conditioned by infectious diseases, there is poverty, regardless of whether it is determined on the level of profits, housing conditions or educational status. Hardil (2001) stated that life in poverty is related to the higher indexes of infectious morbidity, especially from tuberculosis. Poverty to which these statistical data testify and which is observed both in industrial and in post-industrial societies renders direct influence on distinctions in the indexes of health.
So, in what is benefit from attention to the problem of poverty in health area? The knowledge about who is poor and how person is poor appears important, as it serves as the first step on the way on achievement of results in behalf of people for an account of:
– understanding of scales and consequences of problem and beginning of dialog with partners;
– planning, estimations and adjustments of policy and programs on a fight against poverty and its consequences;
– understanding when it is necessary to depend upon a concrete policy and purposeful actions, and about how to use the general programs of public policy for achievement of poor layers of population and liquidation of poverty and privations.
Thus, summarizing information presented in this paper it is possible to come to the conclusion that determination of problem sets the way of its decision; conceptions set an action, like the barrel of weapon designs motion of bullet in the direction of purpose. In the process of policy development conceptions execute a meaningful role, as they set the algorithm of collection and analysis of proofs and method which political actions will be carried out by means of conducted public discussions and conducted informatively-propagandist activity, monitoring and subsequent steps. It is necessary to repeat that the most general definition of poverty is the real lack of facilities or resources, but it is a definition with a negative implication; this term many governments (especially it touches the authoritarian regimes with the protracted stay at power) try fully to veil and, as a rule, do not aim to discuss. Approaches to poverty determination, in addition, are ranged in a spectrum from the observance of human rights and universal set of manuals to charity and social help. Accordingly, some approaches in regard to poverty reprobate for that they bring more harm, than benefit, as entail the remaining approach to social defence or strengthen a social isolation, concentrated exceptionally on the narrow segment of society.

 
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