Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

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Figure 4.2: Summary table highlighting the relationship
between different determinants of health as they relate
to the East of England at key transitions in the life course
Babies
and young
children
(0-5 years)
and their
families
Young
people
(c.16-22
years)
Older
people
General socio-economic, cultural
and environmental conditions Living and working conditions
• Some 200,000 children are estimated
to be living in poverty in the East of
England. Factors associated with low
income families include worklessness,
single parenthood, disability, a head
of household from an ethnic minority,
and lower age of mother
• There is some evidence that children
within poorer families are badly affected
by emissions from traffic as ‘rat runs’,
etc. are close to their homes
• One challenge for the Region is to
encourage young people to remain in
education post-16: there are lots of low
paid jobs available, particularly in those
parts of the Region that are growing
quickly and in rural areas
• Many young people in the Region have
high aspirations career-wise but end
up in jobs which they consider to be
disappointing; this is a cause of low
self esteem and it can have adverse
implications for their health
• Many of the young people that do
complete Further Education/Higher
Education (FE/HE) courses have
substantial debt. Particularly if they end
up in relatively poorly paid employment,
this can be problematic
• People of older working age are coming
under experiencing increased stress
within the workplace and yet people
within the Region are likely to need
to work for longer
• Poor housing has adverse impacts
on the health of young children
• Evidence suggests that early years
learning can improve educational
performance in later life and this
has important implications for health
• Young children need to have scope
for an hour or more of physical
activity every day. This means that
playgrounds, etc., that are safe need
to be provided
• Evidence suggests that participation
in physical activity drops off sharply –
particularly for women – once it is not
a compulsory school activity. ‘Designing
in’ exercise is therefore likely to be
especially important for this group
• Homelessness can be a particular
problem for young people and
currently, access to relevant services
is poor for this age group
• The incidence of teenage pregnancies
tends to cluster around particular
schools suggesting that support from
and through schools might have
a significant impact on teenage
conception rates. This in turn
has long-term health implications
• Older people – many of whom are
home owners – may be living in poor
housing conditions. Particularly for
older, single, women in isolated rural
areas, this is a concern
• Fear of crime tends to be especially
acute among older people and
this can limit access to services