Bailey Miller

Student ID - 2152725
Assignment 2 -Reflective Journal
Following on from my first journal my idea of health is continuing to grow
as the weeks progress, with my knowledge becoming broader in the area
of health. This topic is becoming more important and relevant to me, my
understanding of health is developing further and I am learning new and
vital information. I find myself stopping to rethink about some of my own
life choices and personal decisions that I have made and that I am
currently making. The new information I have been given has assisted me
to start changing my thoughts about health. Certain topics such as class
and inequity, health and well being have opened my eyes to some very
serious issues that are on-going and will escalate if there is lack of access
to education and information.
Class and health have been segregated into three main classes, which are;
upper class, middle class, and working class. The topic textbook Second
Opinion argues that social class and health inequality are strongly aligned
and link related groups of people who have the same working and living
conditions. Germov (2014) strongly states that class is based on;
qualification skills, wage labor, ownership and control over scarce
economic resources and ownership of assets. Relating class back to every
day life, I can see a clear example of class characteristics while you walk
down the street, go to the supermarket or anywhere you go. We are
segregated into different classes every day whether we like it or not. It
could be the car you drive, the house you live in, how much money you
have or even by the clothes you are wearing. I believe being segregated or
judged by different people without a choice is completely unfair, as
individuals do not get to choose for themselves. This choice may be quite
out of their hands as there circumstances may not be within their control
such as there parents income, house or jobs. The textbook states that
people who share the same class position will stereotypically share similar
life choices. Not giving someone the chance to change out of a particular
class or go up a class to me seems discriminating and wrong. Relating this
back to health you can clearly see if you dont give someone the chance to

change about of a different group or class it can be detrimental on their

health.
One of the key indicators of class inequality is the distribution of wealth
in a county (Germov, 2014 p.83). Relating this quote back to a discussion
we had in class about countries and their weekly food intake stimulated a
lot of segregated conversations between class members with a number of
people taking different sides and having different opinions on the topic.
Thinking about these conversations I believe class inequality really is one
of the biggest key indicators of wealth in a country. Determining what
group or class someone is in is figured out by Looking at the food people
eat, the clothes they wear, family sizing and housing, this has a very large
impact on their that will have a definite impact on their life. This really
made me re think my life choices and helped me to think about how lucky
I am to have assets, family, a house, money and a country that can
provide everything that we need for a healthy, happy day-to-day life.
In the reading from week 8, Chapter 8, the textbook states that the heath
status of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander people is worse
than non-Indigenous people. I was only aware of this as I was nominated
to research Indigenous Australians and their health issues and what
implications this can have on their life for our group enquiry project. As I
was elected this topic to research I have been investigating this and have
been astonished with the information I have found.
A number of underlying risk factors are of concern. These include
smoking, harmful consumption of alcohol, and obesity (Germov 2014,
p.149).

Germov strongly argues that tobacco smoking has been

identified as the largest preventable cause of mortality and illness in the

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This is astounding I wasnt
aware of the impact of this issue and affects tobacco smoking has on
Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander people.

Learning this

new information has made me think about the health of everyone I know
more closely and is making me want to help people and educate them on
this topic so this preventable issue can be stopped.

The textbook addresses the issue with concern stating that help is needed
to ensure that the Australian population is assisting in decreasing the gap
in health inequalities. This requires focussing on the fundamental issues
such as; providing adequate and accessible heath facilities that are
suitable, acceptable and culturally appropriate for the Indigenous and
Torres Strait Islander population.
Health still continues to be a wider topic than I had originally believed. As
the semester progresses I am finding myself more intrigued in health and
all aspects that follow. The topic has challenged my thinking and I am now
looking at things with a different lens. With the information that has now
become known to me I am changing my personal lifestyle for the better,
ensuring I have a healthy, positive and happy life. I still envisage that by
the end of the semester my thoughts will broaden to the maximum and I
will have the understanding, ability and be confident to convey the health
topic to the students I will one day teach.

Reference list:
German, J. (2014). Second Edition an Introduction to Health Sociology (5th
ed., pp. 80-84 Chapter 5). Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.: Oxford
University Press.
German, J. (2014). Second Edition an Introduction to Health Sociology (5th
ed., pp. 148-150 Chapter 8). Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.: Oxford
University Press.