Joey Park
Bundang International School
Abstract
Health inequality is better understood as a sociological phenomenon than simply as a medical issue or the result of individual responsibility. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a starting point, this study demonstrates that unequal health outcomes were shaped by differences in employment, housing, income, and access to healthcare rather than by personal choices alone. The Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) framework is used to explain how social and economic conditions influence opportunities to achieve good health throughout the life course. Fundamental Cause Theory further explains why health inequalities persist despite advances in medicine and public health by emphasizing the unequal distribution of flexible resources such as education, income, and social connections. Health inequality is also examined as both an outcome of broader social inequality and a mechanism through which inequality is reproduced across generations. Ultimately, health serves as a window into society, revealing how opportunities, resources, and risks are unequally distributed.
