1. Advances in Contemporary Health Care for Vulnerable Populations
- Author
-
Jackson, Debra and Jackson, Debra
- Subjects
- Health services accessibility, Poor--Medical care, People with social disabilities--Medical care
- Abstract
As a characteristic, vulnerability is considered undesirable, and is associated with susceptibility, debility, failure, flaw and weakness. In the context of population health, vulnerability is also viewed as detrimental, and has been defined as the degree of'relative risk or susceptibility to adverse health outcomes'(Flaskerud & Winslow, 1998, p. 69). This disparity affects social groups who have limited environmental, social and economic resources, and is able to be measured in terms of factors such as early mortality, increased proportional morbidity, and reduced quality of life (Flaskerud & Winslow, 1998). Among the populations considered vulnerable in health terms are cultural minorities, such as Indigenous people, those who are homeless and destitute (Nyamathi et al., 2012), imprisoned people as well as their families (Nyamathi, Marlow, Branson, Marfi see, & Nandy, 2012), and economically disadvantaged people (Flouri, Mavroveli, & Tzavidis, 2010).
- Published
- 2012