CASE STUDY

Case Study

Case Study

Introduction

Empirical research suggests that the highest rates of lung and prevail in social class groups that are most deprived. Apart from that, the higher risk of occurrence of lung cancer in the deprived social class groups is mainly due to smoking. It is important to note that smoking is strongly associated with the status of the socioeconomic class and about 80% of cases of lung cancer cases can be approximately attributable to smoking (Shack et. al, 2008, pp. 7).

Social Factor which is Relevant to Jean's Health

The social factor which is important to Jean's health is the social class, which also refers to Jean's socio-economic background. It is important to identify the extent to which socioeconomic and educational differences in smoking account for the differences in social class in occurrence of lung cancer (Thun, 2009, pp. 285). It has been seen that the relationship between smoking, social class and lung cancer has not been static but instead evolved during the past 50 years, and followed the past trends in the manufactured cigarettes' dissemination. The dependence of manufactured cigarettes has spread to women and has moved from the higher classes to the lower ones. Jean was a smoker and quit it only when she reached her fifties, which means that she remained a chain smoker for much of her life. The fact that she worked at a cafeteria shows that she is not much educated or else her field of work would have been better and she would have opted for a better job such as working at an office.

Studies report that there is a significant difference in the risk of lung cancer that is reported between different social classes, besides the effects of smoking (Thun, 2009, pp. 286). People who possess higher risks of lung cancer are the ones who suffer from poor lung health, and have to face poor socio-economic conditions in their life. Apart from that, being deprived from a healthy lifestyle and good medical facilities also contributed to increasing the risk of lung cancer among people and women in particular as they need more care to be taken in terms of health since they have to give birth to babies. The studies that have been carried out showed that social inequalities are prevalent in the risk of lung cancer. This is partly due to different smoking habits that prevail in the social classes, such as the amount which is smoked and the amount of inhalation. A thorough research of a large cohort of women in UK depicts that lung cancer mortality is on the rise in women (Lart et. al, 2001, pp. 269).

In order to carry out the research to study how social class affects smoking which is a cause of lung cancer, the social classes were categorized according to the Registrar General's classification. The research proved that more manual workers live in deprived areas and reported higher levels of cigarette smoking, which caused them to have lung function that was worse compared ...