Today was the day of our presentations at the conference. We first looked at some Anatomage tables simulating fetal development and childbirth. After playing around with the simulations, we went up to our classroom to work on our presentation slides and practice presenting.

For the conference, my group presented on “Socio-economic Status Impact on Healthcare” with focuses on women, men, LGBTQ+ people, and people of ethnic minorities. In our presentation, we explored how being a low income adult affects access to healthcare based on different social groups in both the US and the UK. We really expanded on the idea of how intersecting identities may affect healthcare access and outcomes differently. Our central question that we answered throughout the presentation was how being a low income adult impacts different social groups in the US versus in the UK. We ultimately revealed that while there are inequities in both countries, the different healthcare structures create some different barriers. However, there are also some barriers that are present in both the US and the UK.

We started our presentation by defining three key concepts: intersectionality, prejudice, and discrimination. Intersectionality was an especially important concept because each member explored a different intersectional identity. In our presentation, we defined intersectionality as the idea that different parts of a person’s identity can overlap and interact in ways that shape their experiences of privilege or discrimination. For example, a low income woman of color may face financial barriers, racism, and sexism all at once. We then went on to explain the role of social determinants of health. These determinants include education access and quality; healthcare access and quality; neighborhood and environment; social and community context; and economic stability. It is important to recognize these determinants because they strongly impact a person’s health outcomes. The final thing we did before diving into discussing our different social groups was we discussed the major differences between the US and the UK healthcare systems: public vs private. The US has a private healthcare system which means that healthcare costs are extremely high. Most people rely on health insurance to pay for their healthcare but only about 53% of Americans receive health insurance through their employment. So, the remaining Americans must either pay for their own health insurance or are uninsured. This results in the US having a high financial barrier for healthcare. The UK, on the other hand, has a public healthcare option which is funded by the NHS. This provides free universal healthcare and reduces financial barriers. However, the UK struggles with extremely long wait times as a result.

The first intersectional group we looked at in our presentation was low income women. In the US, low income women have low rates of health insurance and as a result pay high out-of-pocket costs. Additionally, there is a shortage of maternity and reproductive healthcare providers in the US, so there is limited care available. Also, about 35% of counties in the US have a complete lack of maternity care access, which can create serious risks during pregnancy and childbirth. Racial and ethnic minorities face the brunt of this issue. In the UK, women face long wait times to receive care and this disproportionately effects low income women because they cannot afford private alternatives if the wait is too long. As of December 2024, there was a report that there were nearly 600,000 incomplete pathways for gynecology services in the UK. This means that nearly 600,000 women in the UK did not receive all of the gynecological care they needed.

Our next group was low income men. In the US, low income men are often under insured or uninsured. This lack of insurance and high costs discourage many men from seeking medical care. In the US, men are more likely to delay seeking care which can lead to worse health outcomes. Additionally, men may not want to seek out medical care due to masculinity norms and the idea that they must “tough it out”. This norm is common in both the US and the UK. While the UK has lower cost barriers thanks to the NHS, low income men still struggle with transportation costs, getting time off work, balancing their caregiving responsibilities, and digital access issues which can all prevent them from getting healthcare. We noted that these barriers can contribute to lower life expectancy and higher emergency care use.

The third group we addressed in our presentation was low income LGBTQ+ people. In the US, there are high rates of discrimination and healthcare professionals may even refuse to give LGBTQ+ people care. Additionally, low income LGBTQ+ people experience limited access to gender affirming care and poorer mental and physical health outcomes. In the UK, there are fewer provider refusals because there are stronger legal protections. However, long wait times for specialized care and limited access to competent care providers are still significant concerns. In the UK, like with the US, there are significant mental health disparities as well.

Our final group in our presentation was low income ethnic minorities. In the US, ethnic minorities face low rates of insurance, geographic disadvantages, and medical mistrust. All of these issues create significant barriers for low income ethnic minorities. In the UK, while once again there are lower financial barriers, ethnic minorities face a lot of similar issues to the US. Low income ethnic minorities also report racism in healthcare settings and poor maternal outcomes when compared to their white counterparts.

After all of our presentations concluded, we had celebratory snacks with Chinenye and then went to get dinner at the Brass House. I got butternut squash raviolis and a brownie. During dinner we played wavelength and expressed how relieved we were that the presentations are finally done with.