'Cause everyone can overcome anything..

Through the course of my blog, I have been discussing the effects of low socioeconomic status on health stability and the effects of low socioeconomic status on a person overall. To change the mood of the posts, I have decided to research people who were able to overcome a great deal of adversity. Everyone needs a little push in order to head in the right direction. As for those individuals who are living under financial hardships, they all need to know that the struggles will eventually end as long as they persevere on their goals and with a little bit of help from others. Here are a few examples of celebrities and some well-known artists who were able to put their struggles aside and to work hard to achieve success..

1.) Jim Carey used to be homeless: Jim Carrey is a very famous comedian and I am almost sure that no one would have guessed him to be homeless considering his huge success. Jim Carey did not even have the opportunity to finish high school because at the age of 15 he felt obligated to drop out, so that he can support his family financially by working. Carey's family was classified to be amongst the lower class individuals. However, his family became so poor that they eventually had to start living in a van. Despite the circumstances, Carey still found it in him to pursue his lifelong dream of being a comedian. In order to help his family, Carey utilized his gift of making an audience laugh by performing at comedy clubs to to provide for his family and eventually is now known as one of the best comedic actors.

Another celebrity who did not let the obstacles of life get in the way of living a successful life is..

2.) Bethany Hamilton's arm was bitten off by a shark: People who struggle financially and cannot afford resources most of the time should not allow themselves to think that they cannot live a successful and prosperous life because they still have arms. Bethany Hamilton, an extremely skilled surfer, lost her left arm due to an almost deadly shark attack. Despite losing one of her arms, Bethany did not stop the tragedy from competing professionally. In only one month after the incident, Bethany was able to get back on her board to start training and eventually was able to win first place in a competition. 

Lastly, another example of what it's like to overcome almost impossible adversities..

3.) Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before actually successfully creating the lightbulb: Although Edison's time was a lot different and a lot easier than today's time, his challenge still gives the message that no matter how hard the process is in the end, things will look up. As for those people who are currently living off pay check to pay check and cannot seem to get out of the difficult struggles of this economy, Edison's trial shows that persistence really is essential. People should learn to persevere and to remember not to give up so easily because "nothing worth it comes easy." 

After researching about this very extraordinary individuals, the feeling of relief dawned on me. I know there are so many people struggling to keep themselves healthy yet alone struggling to be able to eat everyday. However, throughout the obstacles in life, everyone should remember that things do look up. I know, for a fact, that the individuals living under difficult lifestyles will find their way. Those who are living under low SES conditions need to find solutions to their problems and shouldn't just rely on what the community has to offer to them. People should start working on themselves before they go out there to pursue a goal. With that being said, I like to end this post by saying that everyone can achieve whatever they put their heart and mind to regardless of the challenges that life gives us. 

To check out more celebrities who were able to overcomes extreme challenges, check out: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/successful-people-obstacles_n_3964459.html

Inadequate Physical Activity and Low SES

Physical activity involves walking, running, exercising, and basically anything but sitting on the couch. As I have mentioned from my previous posts, individuals who live in an underdeveloped community typically experience running out of resources. For example, children who live in an area where it is predominantly full of people with low SES, lack resources and materials in their school districts to have a better education. As a result, not only their health is affected but their education stability as well. Recently, it has been founded that the lack of physical activity within underdeveloped schools is starting to become a common trend. 

By definition, the World Health Organizations mentions that physical activity is "any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure," which typically has positive benefits such as reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that children, nowadays, should be obtaining an hour of physical activity everyday. In addition, governments recommend that public schools from K-12 should incorporate physical activity in their curriculum. However, how is that possible when school districts are "too poor" to be able to provide physical education classes?

To me personally, I believe that the conditions of low SES areas affect how much physical activity a student achieves. Since school systems are most likely focused on trying to achieve maintaining books and materials for the core subjects, materials for a physical education class is more or less neglected. Low SES areas most likely do not prioritize maintaining playgrounds and do not maintain the gardens which could discourage children to go outside and play because of the poor surroundings. Even if low SES areas have the resources, accessibility becomes an issue because the costs of being able to afford and maintain facilities are typically over the budget. 

It breaks my heart to know that physical activity lacks in some school districts. I cannot imagine going through elementary school without the privilege of having recess and PE. What can we do to help those who are in need? Maybe performing community service low SES areas by planting flowers could help under developed areas look beautiful enough for children to be encouraged to play outside instead of staying at home neglecting their need for physical activity. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WHY LOW SES SCHOOLS ARE LACKING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CHECK OUT...

http://publichealthstories.wordpress.com/2014/01/30/physical-activity-in-low-ses-areas/

Children, Education, & Socioeconomic Status

 

    From the previous post, I discussed how people with lower socioeconomic status have a lack in obtaining health stability due to limited access in health care. Because having low SES not only affects a person's overall health status, I have decided to do some mild research on how socioeconomic status, in general, affects a person's everyday lifestyle. A person's socioeconomic status is commonly consisted with the combination of education, income, and occupation. By analyzing the definition, a person may easily conclude that SES can determine if you are successful in life.Furthermore, by definition, we can say that through examining socioeconomic status', one can tell whether or not a person will have access to certain resources besides health care insurance.

     Besides socioeconomic status affecting individuals health wise, research has shown that children who grow up from low SES households and communities are known to have slow progress in terms of academics compared to those people who are fortunate enough to achieve a higher socioeconomic status. People who are able to financially support themselves have access to various resources. However, communities who are financially unstable and communities that include people who have low socioeconomic status' most likely do not have the materials and resources to educate the children accordingly compared to communities who consist of people with a higher SES. Typically, the school systems in low-SES areas lack resources which consequently, affect the students' academic abilities. Although lack of resources could be a huge factor on why children from low-SES families suffer academically, it has been said that initial academic skills are correlated with the child's home environment. A child's ability can be influenced by low literacy environments due to stress. In my opinion, I feel that lack of resources is a huge problem but I believe that parents also play a role on a child's academic success. I feel that it is not a child's fault if he/she suffers because parents should be the biggest motivators to help their child succeed in whatever they do in life. However, because parents are responsible for their low socioeconomic status, they are probably too busy to focus on their children's academic achievements due to so much pressure from work trying to make ends meet. Despite the lack of resources from school systems, I feel that parents are huge contributors on perpetuating the lack of education in low socioeconomic status communities.
   
   Everyone is familiar with the saying, "children are the future." It is extremely disappointing to know that even though people are aware of the fact that children are huge factors in order to change the world in the future, no one is investing and taking the time to teach them. It is understandable that those who have a lower socioeconomic status are extremely busy making sure that they are able to feed their children and being able to provide a roof for them. However, what about education? What about being able to help their child practice their intellectual abilities? By definition, SES is measured by a person's overall education which consequently determines the outcome of their careers. I strongly believe that education is the stem that affects a person's overall stability when it comes to socioeconomic status because there has been increasing evidence that supports the link between lower SES and negative psychological outcomes that affect academic achievement. According to the American Psychological Association, children from lower SES households are about twice as likely as those from high-SES households to display learning-related behavior problems. (Morgan er al., 2009). Also, identifying a part of a lower/working class in college has been associated with feelings of not belonging in school and intentions to drop out before graduation (Langhout, Drake, & Rosselli, 2009). These facts are so disturbingly moving yet not much has been done to improve the school systems for those under low-SES communities. Children should not have to deal with the stress and pressures that their parents have to endure because they did not choose to be living economically and financially unstable. Children should just feel obligated to worry about succeeding in school to be able to leave the low socioeconomic status world. In conclusion, children are still the future, so people need to take the time to invest in them and their education. Children should not have to suffer academically because of their parents' inability to provide for them. Children should be able to turn their unfortunate present to have a brighter future.
   

For more facts on how children are affected academically, check out:

http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/factsheet-education.aspx

SES and Health Care

From reading articles and journals on the common effects socioeconomic status, health effects seems to be the least common to come up. I feel that people do not pay attention to a person's SES when measuring health stability. However, socioeconomic status is considered one the most influential factors on a person's overall health status. There has been a direct correlation that people who obtain low SES usually encounter diseases and have a much higher rates or mortality compared to people who obtain a high SES. The common health conditions associated with socioeconomic status are cardiovascular diseases, infant and maternal mortality, unintended injury, homicide and suicide, arthritis, hypertension, and chronic bronchitis. It is unfortunate to have a long list of diseases related to SES because I believe this issue could be resolved if it weren't for the limited access to health care.
 
     Socioeconomic differences in terms of health can easily be the result of constrained access to health care. Based on the article I have read from the "Future of Children," the authors have suggested there is a "paradox" when it comes to demands and resources since not everyone who has a low SES suffer with higher risks of mortality. They explained that those who obtain a lower social status in life have the tendency to encounter "social and community demands" while having or not having any resources such as money, access to medical care, and social support. Therefore concluding, that demands and resources play a big role on why those with lower socioeconomic status have such a variation in health stability.

   With that being said, I think it is unfortunate that the demands for resources based on the current situation is what is causing such a great difference between those with high SES and low SES in terms of overall stability. People are aware that the limited access health care could be the main factor that can cause the variation but what can people do to change it? Honestly, I do not even know where to begin but it is just really frustrating that the current health policies are what is causing people's health stability to decrease. As much as doctors would like to help those who cannot afford health insurance, the ability to have health coverage depends solely on the government. Sure there are programs such as WIC that cater to Women, Infants and Children who obtain low SES, but it is hard to draw conclusions as to how far such programs will be able to improve social status. SO WHAT.... What am I really getting at? All I am really trying to say is that people should be aware of what's going on. Those living comfortable lives, I am guilty of it, should stop and think of those living on the edge. Nowadays, people are under the impression that "ignorance is bliss" when it is really is not. I'm not saying that people should start rallying and protesting against the health policy that the government has placed, but I believe the first step to solving problems is awareness.

Until my next post.. For more information on SES and health related effects check out...

http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=60&articleid=374&sectionid=2510

Intro: My initial thoughts on SES on health stability

     As a college student who is studying to be an upcoming nurse, health stability is always on my mind. To start the series of posts I will be relaying on the effects of a person's socioeconomic status on being healthy, I would like to put my thoughts about it first. How does one maintain health stability? Besides, nutrition, in terms of consuming the appropriate meals, I very much believe that a person's economic status could also be a huge factor in being able to maintain a person's overall health stability. I come from a family who is fortunate enough to have been able to periodically go to the doctor's and have a yearly physical. Every time I would feel under the weather as well as the rest of my family, we have the luxury of going to the doctor due to the beauty of insurance. Due to the annual physicals I have, the doctors are able to tell me whether I am healthy or not. However, what about those families who don't have the privilege to see a doctor? Now, I am taking out the people who are fortunate to have health benefits but refuse to take advantage of them. From using myself as an example, maintaining health stability is not a hardship but it could be for a lot of people. I have worked in many clinics and family practices and I hear stories about families who do not have insurance, so they just decide not to see a doctor even though it is very much necessary.
      Health benefits typically come from employers nowadays. Generally, the people who receive these health benefits could, assuming, be very well off. By "well off" I mean these people have graduated college and have great careers.. While those who have lower class jobs do not receive these health benefits mainly because they cannot afford them. Because the economy is experiencing an ongoing struggle, families from the lower class are unable to attain financial stability. Being secured in terms of finances is important because there could be emergencies such as, car breaking down, house maintenance, and of course, health issues. While some people are blessed enough to eat junk food everyday and still be considered healthy, there are a lot of people who must intake nutritious meals to maintain healthy. Everyone knows junk food is more cost-friendlier than nutritious food. Families who are financially unstable may turn to unhealthy meals in exchange of something healthier just to be able to make ends meet money wise. How are people going to maintain being healthy if they keep consuming "bad" food? Next question, hiow do people maintain health stability when they are not even able to maintain their finances? I, myself, wish had the answer to my own questions because I believe it is a problem that will continually rise. As a nursing student, promoting good health will always be a priority.