Global Perspective on Education and Health Status
Introduction
Research and documentation has proved that there is a persistent relationship between education and health in many countries. There is a clear association between education and health irrespective of labor market, income and family background indicators. It is important to note that the relationship that exists between these two concepts is complicated since there are several mechanisms dictating the connection between health and education. There are several deferring reasons on why education might be related to health status for instance, economic explanations whereby education has been related to occupational choice and income. This paper will give a detailed comparison between education and health Status in U.S and South Korea in addition to other developed and developing countries. Education in U.S is universally available and mainly provided by the Public sector. Education in Korea on the other hand is due to American influence after World War II.
Discussion
Overview of Education in the U.S
Education in the United States is chiefly provided by the public sector. Education funds come from the state, local and federal. The other feature associated with U.S education is the fact that child education is compulsory. Hence, there is a universal availability of education nationally. The standards of education and decisions regarding standardized testing are made by the state. Ages for compulsory education range from five to eighteen years. In both the public and private schools, there are three education levels which are elementary school, middle school and high school. Governance of college education in the United States is separate from the high school and elementary school system (Schoeni, 2010).
The State of Education in the United States
According to the findings of UNICEF in 2002 on the education status of twenty four countries, the United States was ranked at the eighteenth position. Science has been the main subject that has made the U.S to have more economical stability compared to other countries. U.S education status went down due to the ‘No Child Left behind’ Law that requires testing of all students on math and reading. This law made many schools to drop science courses in order to concentrate more on reading and math. Hence, American students are quite behind their International counterparts due to neglect of science subjects (Muney and National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009). There have been claims that America’s leaders give less attention and focus to the educational sector for instance, the science advisor to the president fails to attend cabinet meetings, and there was also banning of the Office of Technology Assessment in 1995. The main reason however for the declining education status is the depreciating values of today’s youth whereby they give more attention to achieving a celebrity status. It is therefore advisable for political leaders to stand up and get more involved in improving the country’s education status (Schoeni, 2010).
Health Status in the United States
The State of health in the united State is associated with disparities and public health agencies are working hard to eliminate these disparities and improve the quality of health care provided in the country. The key indicators of health status are infant mortality and morbidity rates. Infant mortality is a true reflection of both maternal health and accessibility to primary health care by pregnant women. At the start of the 20th century, the US population experiences poor hygiene, poor living standards and poor nutrition. Infant mortality rates were high due to acute conditions and communicable diseases (Schoeni, 2010). It is worth noting that over the course of the century, health status has greatly improved due to public measure initiatives such as drinking water treatment and improved sanitation. Aging population is however threatened by chronic diseases such as cancer which has been a major cause of death in the old-aged. Education is also a major contributor and determinant of health status in U.S The healthy status of the United States is Moderate, despite the fact that the country spends more money on health care than any other field. There will be a detailed examination of the relationship between education and health status in the United States (Schoeni, 2010).
Relationship between Education and Health Status in the United States
Research studies have shown that there is a huge and positive relationship between education and health status. It is however difficult to determine whether this relationship is causal or not. Synthetic cohorts by use of successive U.S censuses are used to estimate the impact that education has on health status and mortality rates. Compulsory education laws in the U.S can also be used to determine a causal estimate of the impact of education on health status (Schoeni, 2010). There is a little connection between access to health care insurance, income and expenditure on the health status. It is however evident that there is a great correlation between education and health status. This relationship is extremely strong irrespective of controlling other measures such as race, income and socio-economic status. Health status in US can be measured using different aspects such as self-reported health status and morbidity rates. Hence, education has a large causal effect on the UnitedState’s health status and in particular the mortality rates (Muney and National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009). Education has been thought to improve health status in United States. Inequalities in health care are caused by poor allocation of funds and finances. The level of health among the richest group is much higher than the level of heath among the poor groups of people. This difference in the level of health is caused by differential level of educational and income. The moderate health status of the United States is contributed by the low level health status of the poorest groups in the United States. There is a large gap between the rich and the poor which presents large disparity is the health status between the two groups (Schoeni, 2010).
Lower class people have low level of education and hence they end up getting jobs that are more stressful. Individuals in lower economic classes are subjected to extremely high cases of stress in both emotional and physical terms. These people have to work harder physically in order to earn money for instance they have to perform physically strenuous jobs and hard labor. It is also evident that these poor individuals have to endure emotional stress since they often worry more about meeting their financial needs. The jobs in this lower rank are also stressful due to the fact that they entail tedious duties with less governance over a worker’s performance. Job stress has a direct relationship with lower heath status level (Muney, 2009).Therefore, low education level is an indication of lower class jobs and hence increase in stress levels. High stress levels of the other hand indicate low health status. It is therefore evident that, a low degree of education depreciates the health status of individuals In United States. The United States government spends more of its money in the health care sector instead of focusing on other sectors such as the education sector. When more resources are spent on health care instead of education, individuals become even poorer due to lack of adequate knowledge that can help them land high income-earning jobs. Low-income and poor health status is directly related. The less efforts by the government to improve the education sector leads to poor generation that gets stuck in a vicious cycle (Schoeni, 2010).
Education has been shown by prior research to have a positive impact on the health status. The more educated an individual is, the longer that individual lives. High education reduces mortality rates among individuals. This is due to the fact that better and more education improves both income and health status (Muney, 2009). The United States is known to spend most of its funds on health care. It is also evident that the country is not allocating its funds in a way that ensures there are equal opportunities to enable a satisfactory health status among each and every economic or social group among citizens. The best option or solution to unequal allocation of funds in health care is to improve the level of education in the country. The level of education should particularly be improved among the poorest classes of citizens. This means that in the United States, the health Status of Citizens is low, and this health status can only be improved by the government allocating more funds to the education sector. Allocation of funds to the education sector will imply universal attainment of quality education among all citizens even those at the lower social class level. This will subsequently lead to getting high-income generating jobs that are less strenuous, and hence improvement of health status. It is therefore clear that high education level is an indication of improved health status in the United States (Muney, 2009). Although education is compulsory for all children aged within five to eighteen years, there is need to improve the quality of education provided. The ‘No Child Left behind law’ puts more emphasis on math and testing while neglecting the science subjects. Science is among the major fields that can help in development and in improving the economic status of the United States. Low quality education leads attainment of low quality and strenuous jobs that depreciate the country’s health status. By focusing more on quality education, it is possible to improve health status in the United States (Schoeni, 2010).
Compulsory schooling and child labor laws in the United States have a direct effect on education and mortality rates. Compulsory attendance law was incepted in 1852 and it gives a minimum and maximum age at which school attendance is required for all children in The United States. Child labor laws on the other hand regulate employment of minors in the United States. Within the periods of 1915-1930, compulsory education and child labor laws had a huge impact on individual education attainment. So many individuals attained elementary and secondary education, and there was a marked decrease in mortality rates. A decrease in mortality rate is an indication of improved health status. Hence, this shows that there was a direct dependence or relationship between the education level and health status in the United States during that period (Schoeni, 2010). It is therefore clear that there is a high decrease in mortality rate following an increase in compulsory schooling. Compulsory laws affect both education and adult mortality rates. This however may be affected by other determinants and factors such as childhood education attainment. In this case, a person’s health during childhood may reflect his or her health during adulthood. It may also affect the level of education attainment (Schoeni, 2010). The other point that is worth noting is the fact that improved health status, may imply increased investments in education. Therefore, low mortality rate would mean an increase the chances of investing more in the educational sector. The United States invests more funds and resources to the healthcare sector instead of allocating funds to the education sector. Therefore, by increasing the level of education among its citizens, there will be improved health status and hence citizens will have the ability to live longer and invest more in the educational sector (Muney, 2009).
According to a survey done by the National Adult Literacy organization, about a quarter of the American adult populations have limited literacy skills. Research has also shown that poor literacy skills imply poor health status among individuals, limited knowledge on health information and higher hospitalization rates. It is also evident that individuals who have low literacy skills generate more charges for health care services than individuals with high literacy skills. These findings show that in the United States, the health status is determined by the level of literacy skills possessed. Citizens with poor literacy skills have low health status, and are more likely to be hospitalized hence spend more money on healthcare (Schoeni, 2010). Allocation of more funds by the United States government in the healthcare sector means that citizens spend more money in receiving healthcare services. Research has shown that high rate of hospitalization is due to limited literacy skills. This means that the low quality of education in the United States means citizens have limited literacy skills and limited knowledge on health care measures. Due to limited knowledge, there is more likelihood of developing different health complication and spending more money on health care services (OECD- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010).
Overview of Education in Korea
The basis of Korea’s modern education system is the founding of national institutes and private schools by patriots and foreign missionaries. Schooling at this time was no longer reserved for the upper class elite but was available for majority of Korean population. All the schools were encouraged to teach practical subjects in order to grow the future of Korean leaders (Mun’gyobu, 2009).The Korean education system entails a six-year elementary school education, three-year junior school education, and four-year college education. Korea got some education assistance from American education after the Second World War. In contrast to United States, in 1960s, junior high school education in Korea was not compulsory. Koreans have traditionally attached so much importance in education which has proved to be extremely competitive (Mun’gyobu, 2009). The key role of education in Korea is to prepare young men for the public service. The central Korean government has done much effort to ensure that local residents are given quality education. It has done this by dispatching scholars to provincial areas. The main goal of elementary schooling in Korea is to teach the fundamentals that can help young Korean children to be live a future productive life. It is therefore evident that Koreans regard education more highly compared to Americans (Mun’gyobu, 2009).
Health Status of Korea
The morbidity rate of Koreans is low and research shows that the rate is likely to decline gradually for the next years. Health status in Korea is determined by several determinants such as environmental conditions, income, nutrition and not forgetting education. The economic development and high rate of industrialization in Korea since the 1960s has led to an observable increase in health status. Infant mortality rates have also been greatly reduced over the mentioned period of time (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2007).The economic capability is the key determinant of the health status and health-related problems among the Koreans. Research studies have shown that the health status of the aged Koreans is dependant on an individual’s wealth and not income. The wealthiest groups of individuals was healthier compared to the poorest group of individuals. Moreover, higher income was also related to a better health status among the elderly people (Mun’gyobu, 2009).Mortality and morbidity rates in Korea have gradually changed from communicable diseases to lifestyle and chronic related diseases. This means that the health status has gradually increased over the years. The education system in Korea has also greatly improved and this is the major cause of increase health status. The number of doctors in Korea plays a major role in reducing adult mortality rates. The other factors that have lead to a decline in mortality rate are lifestyle factors, healthcare expenditure and public health initiatives (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2007).
Relationship between Education and Healthcare Status in Korea
There are complex mechanisms by which education influences health status among the Koreans. These mechanisms may include poor health in childhood, interrelationship between demographic and family background indicators, greater resources due to higher levels of education and also an individual’s social networks (Mun’gyobu, 2009). There has been a marked increase in education in Korea. Many Koreans are educated and knowledgeable which means that they have high literacy skills. There is a positive relationship between education and health status in Korea. This statement is supported by the fact that an increase in education level has been accompanied by improved health status in Korea. There has been a decrease in adult mortality rate which means that less people are dying due to improved health status. More people are knowledgeable and have knowledge on healthy living tips and lifestyles. Healthy living means an improved health status (Mirowsky and Ross, 2006).There other determinant that has lead to increased heath status in Korea is increase in capita income. Increase in capita income means that an individual has a well-paying job. In order to obtain a well-paying job, one has to attain a high educational level. Korea has experienced an increase in the number of doctors which means that majority of Korean citizens have high standards of education, and hence can qualify for doctorate careers. It is therefore clear that improved education level is directly linked to increase in per capita income, which means increased health status in Korea (Mirowsky, 2006).
In contrast to the U.S government, the Korean government has invested limited resources and funds to the healthcare sector, medical facilities and services. This means that the government has invested more resources in education sector compared to the healthcare sector. The result of this investment is increased health care status among the Koreans and spending less money in receiving healthcare services (Mun’gyobu, 2009). However, it is important to note that Korea is a developing country and hence there are some sectors that are still under development for instance the healthcare sector. The government is pending so much in technological advancement in order to increase health care equipment and facilities. It is beneficial that the government lays emphasis on better education and trains its citizens on the essence of education and becoming industrious individuals in the society and the country in general. With the emphasis on education, there is hope that more citizens will have literacy skills and invest in other regional sectors. Moreover, with better education, knowledge of health-related information will ensure there is a remarkably improved health status (Mun’gyobu, 2009).
Literacy and Health Status in Developing Countries
Education influences economic, social and physiological behaviors of many people especially in developing and recently developed countries. Research studies have shown that there is a relationship between education and socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status also has a link to development of chronic diseases such as obesity. Obesity on the other hand is correlated to the level of education (Paccaud, Burnier and Wietlisbach, 2009).There is an increase in rate of obesity in developing countries and these rates vary according to the levels of education in addition to ethnic background. An example of a developing country that has a high obesity prevalence rate is Nigeria. Obesity is associated with people of highs social class in developing countries. This link between obesity and individuals of high social class in experienced only among women in developed countries (Paccaud, 2009). Research done to show relationship between education and health status of the Ibo group of Nigeria indicated that males and females with limited literacy skills and education showed high mean blood pressure values. High blood pressure may be as a result of stress. Citizens with low education levels have low per capita income and often end up getting tedious and strenuous jobs. Moreover, these individuals worry a lot and are often stressed as they think of ways to meet financial needs. Stress and too much worry is what lead to these individuals developing high blood pressure (Ralph and James, 2007).
Research results also showed that individuals who were at a higher risk of getting obesity and cardiovascular diseases were those who had limited education. Hence, primary school group showed a higher risk of obesity and cardiovascular occurrence compared to tertiary education group. It was also evident that woman of primary education level were more likely to get cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The major reason is due to the fact that these women were more involved in doing tedious work and were more stressed compared to their male counterparts. Moreover, the women had low educational level and hence less knowledgeable on ways of better health care living and ways through which they could improve their health standards and status (Ralph, 2007). Education is a major contributor and determinant of health status in developing and poor countries. There is an inverse relationship between education and blood pressure and obesity. Therefore, increasing the level of education would be expected to reduce obesity prevalence rates in developing countries such as Nigeria. Citizens with high level of education and schooling are less likely to drink a lot of alcohol and smoke a lot. Hence, the chances of these individuals becoming obese or using illegal drugs are low. Conclusions of research showed that years of formal schooling were directly related to health status (Rotimi, and Ataman, 2005).
The other explanation of the results obtained is that individuals with a high education level have more information on health are likely to make better use of these health-related information. Individuals with limited education on the other hand have less health-related information and hence low health status. The lack of education on energy foods and health foods has also contributed a lot to the effects of social class on obesity. Less educated people do not have knowledge on the kinds of food required for prevention of obesity and other chronic diseases (Rotimi, 2005). The other point that is worth noting is that there is a high adult mortality rate among the less educated people in developing countries. This is due to the fact that these people lack on knowledge on ways through which they can achieve healthy living standards. Such people have a low per capita income and hence lack money for better healthcare services. Lack of better health care services is among the major contributors of high adult mortality rate. Highly educated people have a much higher income and high access to better healthcare services, and hence low mortality rate (Rotimi, 2005).
Individuals with a high education level live longer after diagnosis with chronic diseases such as obesity. This is due to the fact that they have accessibility to better treatment and receive more treatment hence increasing the cost of treatment. On the other hand if individuals with low education status and low socioeconomic status desire to live long and attain a general health condition, there would be need to spend more money due to increased intensity of treatment, complications and increased rate of re-hospitalization (Ralph, 2007). Highly educated people in developing countries have the knowledge and ability to develop healthy lifestyles and awareness of health risks accompanies by obesity. Uneducated people on the other hand have little knowledge on obesity and its risks. It is therefore clear that improving education is the only way through which developing countries can combat the increasing prevalence rate of obesity-related diseases and high blood pressure (Paccaud, 2009).
Conclusion
It is therefore clear that the education level of an individual has a direct correlation with the health status of that individual. The same case applies to a country in that a country with a high developed education sector has an improved health status. United state does not regard education as highly as Korea does. Due to this reason, there is a higher adult mortality rate in the United States compared to Korea. This means that Korea is experiencing a gradual improvement in its health status due to the much emphasis laid on education citizens. The health status in developing countries is determined by the level of education, social class, lifestyle and other determinants. People of a high social caste or poor people have limited education and literacy skills. Hence, there is a high mortality rate or low heath status among these individuals. Moreover, they are at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as cancer and high blood pressure.
References
Mirowsky, J., Ross, C. E. (2006) Education, social status and health.
New York. Transaction Publishers, page 150-154. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Muney, A. D., & National Bureau of Economic Research (2009) the relationship
between health and adult mortality in the United States. National Bureau of Economic Research. Vol. No. 8986, page 255-320. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Muney, A. D., & National Bureau of Economic Research (2008) The relationship
between health and adult mortality in the United States. National Bureau of
Economic Research. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Mun’gyobu, K., & Yon’guwon, C. K. (2007) Education in Korea. Ministry of Education, Republic of Korea. The University of Michigan, page 80-125. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Paccaud, S. D., Burnier, B. P., & Wietlisbach, V. (2009) Body mass index, abdominal
Adiposity and blood pressure: consistency of their association across developing
and developed countries. Int J Obes, Page 150-180. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
OECD- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2010) Educational
Research and Innovation Improving Health and Social Cohesion through Education. OECD Publishing. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
OECD- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2010) Education at a
Glance 2010: OECD Indicators, page 154. OECD Publishing.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2007) Korea: Progress in implementing regulatory reform. OECD reviews of regulatory form. OECD
Publishing, page 150-180 . Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Ralph A., & James, W. P. (2007) New Understanding in obesity research. Proc Nutr
Soc.58, 385-393 Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Rotimi, C. R., & Ataman, S. (2005) the prevalence of hypertension in seven populations
Of West African origin. Am J Public Health. 87, 160-169. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Schoeni, R. F. (2010) Making Americans Healthier: Social Economic Policy as Health
Policy, page 56-120. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://books.google.co.ke/.
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
