This work belongs to Lulu it is provided purely as a guide to
other student nurses. It should in no way be copied or passed off as belonging to a 3rd party.
It is protected under the UK and international law of copyright.
This work belongs to Lulu it is provided purely as a guide to
other student nurses. It should in no way be copied or passed off as belonging to a 3rd party.
It is protected under the UK and international law of copyright.
Deprivation and its effect on child and family health
Women from lower social classes are more likely to have lower birth weight babies. 27% of babies born to social class 5 mothers weighed under 3kg. 19% of babies from social class 1 weighed under 3kg.
Low birth weight babies have a higher mortality rate. 25% of babies weighing under 3kg die within the first 12 months. 0.2% of babies over 3kgs die in the first 12 months.
Children whose parents both smoke are 2.5 times more likely to smoke regularly than those whose parents have never smoked.
Children who smoked regularly were also more likely to drink alcohol. In Scotland children were found to drink more units per week than children in England or Wales. Children aged 7 whose mothers smoked were found to be 3 to 7 months reading age behind that of children whose mothers did not smoke. Children from smoky environments were found to be more at risk of developing lung disorders such as asthma or bronchitis.
A 1992 survey of 1000 12 to 15 year olds found that 14% of 14 and 15 year olds had experimented with drugs of which 3% was solvents and 9% was cannabis. 3% of 12 and 13 year olds admitted to trying drugs. In Scotland 18% of 12 to 15 year olds admitted to ever using drugs, and 22.5% of 16 to 50 year olds.
24% of children in UK under age 16 had never been to a dentist, mostly the under fives. In Scotland 46% of 15 year olds had tooth decay in 1993.
As healthy food is more expensive, people with limited finances often resort to cheaper fast food alternatives, which can lead to obesity. Or because shortage of money may go with out food or certain types of food which could lead to malnutrition from an unbalanced diet. Poor knowledge of nutritional needs can also cause these problems. Although people with low incomes spend about 25% of their income on food it was actually about £20 less per week than the average spend on food.
West Lothian has the forth highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Scotland after Dundee, East Ayrshire and Aberdeen. The current rate for teenage pregnancies in the 13 to 15 age group is 9.5% of pregnancies in Scotland.
In 1990 62% of babies were breastfed at birth in the UK. In Scotland the rate was only 50%. 84% of social class 1 mothers breast fed in Scotland compared with only 28% of social class 5 mothers. In 1996 in deprivation category (depcat) 1 (most affluent areas) 69% of babies were breastfed at birth dropping to 58% at 6/8 weeks and dropping again to 22% at 8/9 months. In the same period in depcat 7 (most deprived areas) only 23% of babies were breastfed at birth dropping to 15% and then to 5%. In Lothian in the year up to July 2000 depcat 1 mothers continuing to feed after birth was 5% higher at 63% and at 8/9 months was at 29%, meanwhile the depcat 7 mothers at 6/8 weeks was up 5% to 20%.
40% of families with 4 or more children live in local authority housing in UK and 69% of lone parent households live in local authority housing in Scotland. In the UK in 1992 30% of children in local authority housing lived in flats, of these 70% lived above the ground floor.
350000 households with children, live in unfit housing.
29% of lone parent families and 26% of large families live in housing with condensation or damp in Scotland. Households headed by the unemployed or other low income status have a higher than average chance of living in housing below tolerable standards. It was found in 1991 that nearly half, 49% of below tolerable standards properties failed their survey on dampness.
On average 18500 new homes were built per year between 1982 and 1992 in Scotland, of these only an average of 3900 per year were council and association housing. At the same time an average of 23000 council houses were sold each year.
Only 34% of female lone parent households work full or part time compared with a national average of 76%, and 84% of married male head of households with families employed.
Women with one child were twice as likely to work than women with four or more children. Women with one child are also four times more likely to work full time than those with over three children.
70% of mothers whose husband worked full time were also employed, 50% of mothers whose husband worked part time worked full or part time, but only 25% of mothers whose husband was unemployed worked.
Unemployment has been associated with the changing economy. In the 10 years to 1991 over 153000 jobs have been lost in male orientated industries, like mining, construction, agriculture, energy and vehicle sectors. Although there has been a rise overall in the numbers employed 190300 jobs have been gained they are primarily in the banking and service industries, more female orientated. Also more people mainly women are employed in part time jobs now.
On average 21% of men in Scotland are low paid, 28% of manual workers are low paid compared to 13% of non-manual workers. 50% of women working in Scotland are low paid, 74% of manual workers are low paid compared to 42% of non-manual workers.
Between 1979 and 1992 the top 20% of earners have seen their earnings increase by 5.1%, the richest 10% gaining £87 per week, while the bottom 20% have seen their earning fall by 3.2% in the same period meaning a loss of £1 per week for the poorest 10% of the population.
Lone parents have the lowest average incomes, and have had since 1982. Around 20% of families in Scotland are now lone parent families. Over 70% of these are on income support. In 1994 25% of under 16’s lived in households on income support. There was a 40% increase in the amount of single parents with below half the average income between 1979 and 1992.
The number of children in poverty (after housing costs [AHC]) from a unemployed lone parent family has increased over the 28 years to 1996 by nearly 19%, meanwhile the number of children in poverty from a working couple household has decreased by 28%.
10% of children were in poverty in 1968, by 1996 the number had risen to 33%. Nearly 90% of children whose parents do not work, both singles and couples were in poverty [AHC] in 1996.
49% of children of children received into care in Strathclyde between 1985 and 1992 were from lone parent households.
Over 76% of admissions were from families dependent on benefits.
Although Scotland as a whole has, a higher number of low paid families than the rest of the UK, rural areas like the Borders and the Highlands have a higher proportion of low paid families. Whereas Lothian and Central have a smaller amount of low paid families.
In 1993 there were 34300 children on the child protection register in England and Wales. 37% of these were for physical injuries (over 12000 children), 26% was neglect (just under 9000 children), 25% was sexual abuse (over 8500), emotional abuse rate was 11% and grave concern at 9%. Although more girls in total were entered on the register, for individual categories more boys were entered except for sexual abuse. There were 2303 on the Scottish child protection register in 1998.
In Scotland in 1992 crimes against children had increased over the previous 10 years, recorded offences of cruelty to and unnatural treatment of children had increased by 2.5 times as did lewd and libidinous practices. Child stealing and defilement of girls under 13 and 16 had also increased over this period.
The number of children aged 10 to 16 found guilty of committing crimes in England and Wales dropped dramatically between 1981 and 1992, offences by boys dropped by 50000 and girls by over 4000.
Children aged 1 and under were most at risk of homicide, but the number is small, 38 deaths were recorded in 1992 in the UK for that age group.
The national child development study started in 1958 shows there has been a marked link between childhood circumstances and adult outcomes. It found that the children who came from economically disadvantaged families were more likely to be disadvantaged as adults themselves. This leads to a spiraling effect as the next generation were then born into disadvantaged families. The disadvantages included not only low income and financial difficulties but also having poorer prospects of getting qualifications and jobs and increased likelihood of becoming a teenage mother or be in trouble with the police.
To summarise people from lower social classes are more likely to have low birth weight babies. Low birth weight babies have a higher mortality rate. Children from lower social classes are more likely to come from a poor family. Children who come from poor families are more likely to live in damp housing. People who live in damp housing are more likely to have health problems. Mothers of babies from deprived areas are less likely to breastfeed their children. Children from families where both parents smoke are more likely to smoke and drink. Poor households with children are most at risk from poverty. Lone parents are the poorest type of families. Large families are likely to be poor. Families living in poverty have less choices than those on higher incomes, healthy food is more expensive, local food may be more expensive and have limited choice. Parents who look for a quick fix like sweets and fast food to placate their children increase the risk of dental caries, obesity and malnutrition. Deprived families spend a higher proportion of their income on cigarettes to ease the stress of life. People from poor families are likely to be least educated. They have less chances of getting employment. Poor children are more likely to get in trouble with the authorities or taken into care. Girls from deprived families are more likely to become teenage mothers. People on low incomes or who are unemployed are more likely to use drugs.
Children born into a deprived family with less money and more health problems will grow to see subsequent generations of their family in the same situation generation after generation.
Those who need the most have the least.
last updated 10/06/08
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