Health maintenance and low socio-economic status: A family perspective

摘要

The socio-economic status of people has a profound influence on health, as higher rates ofmorbidity and mortality are reported for individuals with lower socio-economic status. Dueto the increased burden of disease, research exploring how families maintain their health ina low socio-economic situation is an urgent priority. The objective of the study was to gainan understanding of the reality families are confronted with in terms of their health due totheir socio-economic status. The study was contextual, qualitative and exploratory usingpurposive sampling methods. The sample size was governed by data saturation and realisedas 17 families (n = 17). The participants for the study were families residing in SoshanguveExtension 12 and 13, South Africa. The data collection method was self-report using a semi-structured interview. Content analysis was done according to Tesch's approach using opencoding. Five themes based on the theoretical basis of the study, including age, sex and geneticconstitution, individual lifestyle factors, social and community networks, living and workingconditions and general socio-economic status were used. Maintaining the health of peopleliving in a physically and psychosocially disadvantaged position requires a different approachfrom registered professional nurses. No community-specific intervention can be planned andimplemented to reduce the burden of communicable and non-communicable disease in thecommunity without evidence based on a family perspective.