Describe what social Economic Status (SES) is and how a patients’ SES may influence patterns in their health behaviors and health status.

Socioeconomic status can be defined as the social status of an individual based on the factors like education, occupation, and income.

Explanation:

Social economic status of a patient concerned with health pattern and behavior. The patient if wealthy enough can afford good medical services, diet, and medication. Also, person with higher levels of education can understand the treatment procedure, can be more aware about health, can maintain hygiene, and can take better decisions related to health.

Person with low income and education may suffer from inability to avail a good medical treatment, cannot obtain good nutrition, and such a person is expected to be affected by occupational hazards for example a person working in mining site is expected to have lung and skin diseases. Thus, person with low social economic status may not have proper health awareness and may not maintain good health.