An Analysis of Health and Health Care Disparities in the UK

1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding of explanations for the distribution of health and differential access to health care in the UK and account for the health and care outcomes of differing social groups.

2.  Demonstrate the following skills and abilities: One-to-one working skills required to work with individual clients within a role play scenario and reflect on and assess your role play performance and one-to-one working skills, identifying ways to improve future practice.

What am I required to do in this assignment?

The first assignment task is to write a 1500-word essay on ONE of the topics given below which relate to issues covered in Part 1 of the teaching programme. You must choose ONE of the following essay titles/topics.

1. Using examples from the UK, discuss the ways in which a person’s socio-economic class and his/her social situation can have an impact of his/her health.

2. Feminists argue that gender stereotyping and medicalisation have historically had a negative impact on women’s health. Discuss.

3. To what extent have constructions of masculinity and gender stereotyping impacted on men’s health?

4. Access to health and social care services in the UK is not equitable. Critically discuss this argument in relation to one of the following: black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, gender, age or disability.

5. Compare and contrast the psychosocial and the biomedical models of health and illness.

6. Discuss in what ways the dying process has been medicalised and commodified in Western societies.

Your essay should include:

·Your chosen title

·An introduction which tells the reader what the aims and objectives of the essay are and an overview of the themes you will be discussing.

·A first paragraph in which you define the key terms used in your essay

·The main body of your essay in paragraph format

·A conclusion where you draw the threads of your discussion together and show how you have addressed your aims and objectives.

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)

In order to pass Assessment 1 you will need to:

• Using information drawn from recommended sources, explain how social factors and social divisions impact on the health/healthcare of differing social groups.

• Summarise your findings and argument in an essay format following standard rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling and referencing.

How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?

Read this assignment brief carefully including the marking criteria on the next page.

You need to read widely drawing on a range of appropriate academic books and/or peer-reviewed journal articles. You will avoid relying on non-academic web sources.

You will apply the Harvard referencing rules accurately throughout the text of your essay and in your reference list. Your reference list will be in alphabetical order with all sources cited in the text appearing in your reference list and all sources in your reference list will appear in the text. An exception is when you cite a secondary source that you read about in a source you read/a primary source. In that case only the primary source (the source you read) should appear in the list of references. It is important to ensure you use secondary referencing, i.e. you use the ‘cited in’ expression in the text, where it is needed so you avoid poor academic practice/plagiarism.

You will write in your own words and always cite in the text where you got the information from. Your referencing will be systematic – every paragraph you write in the main body of your essay will be full of references correctly formatted.

You will structure your work in the correct essay format, with no subheadings, no bullet points and no diagram/tables/graphs, etc.

Do not write in the first person and make sure you thoroughly proofread your work before submitting.

Seek support on academic writing and referencing if necessary (e.g. from Study Hub, Communication Skills, your tutors etc.).

How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?