There are a number of contributing factors which determine class. As Marx would explain, class is determined by ones source of income or by ones “relationship to the means of production” (Brym & Lie, 2007, p. 228). Though it was thought by Weber that it is not just a persons ownership or non-ownership of property (ownership of the means of production, i.e. factory) that determines class position, instead it was a persons possession of goods, opportunities for income, level of education and degree of technical skill (Brym & Lie, 2007, p.228-9). Webers theory of stratification and status groups suggests that sociological orientation impacts health and illness. Human environmental factors, lifestyle factors and factors related to the public health and health care systems are all related to the different classes; upper, lower and racial (Brym & Lie, 2007, p.576). Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, as a result, are impacted by the classes imposed by society. It is the indigenous group that exhibit the effects of social disadvantage, for example high rates of poverty and poor nutrition and lifestyle, and how it impacts on their health outcomes (Freemantle, Officer, McAullay & Anderson, 2007, p.43).
Stanley & Wilkes stated in 1998 that there are many reports that paint a depressing picture of the health of the Australian Aborigine. They go on to explore some of the living conditions, unhealthy lifestyles and social stratification that many aboriginal people face. According to Weber, one with minimal possession of goods, opportunities for income, level of education and degree of technical skill would be stratified into a lower class in society (Brym & Lie, 2007, p.228-9).
Approximately 24% of Australian Aborigines live scattered in remote rural communities and are considered in a lower class. They suffer from a high unemployment rate, low income, minimal level of education and as a result poor health (Stanley & Wilkes, 1998). This social disadvantage...