INCOME AND SOCIAL STATUS

Income and social status is the most important determinant of health. Social status is closely related to income. In most cases, the higher your income, the higher your social status. And the higher your social status, the better your health. This is true for both individuals and communities. That means that if you live in a low-income community and work in a low ranking job, your health status will probably be lower than that of a professional who lives in a higher income community - even if you both make equally healthy choices.

The main difference seems to be how much control people have over their lives. People with higher social status tend to have more control, and thus, are more able to take action to improve their health.

What can you do?

Think about how income and social status might affect your health and then ask:

• Are they a positive or negative influence?
• What action can I take to increase the control I have over the things that are important to me?

Think about how differences in income and social status might affect the health of your community and then ask:

• Are there big differences between the rich and poor in our community?
• What action can we take to reduce the differences between the rich and the poor?
• What action can we take to increase the amount of control that people have over their lives and health?