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At Risk vs. Vulnerable Populations

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Submitted By dkatg
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What is the difference between a group "at risk" for poor health and a group considered a "vulnerable" population? Provide an example of a group at risk and a group considered a vulnerable population.
Explain why members of these groups cannot advocate for themselves or why advocating for these groups would be beneficial.
What would you advocate for?

The notion of groups “at risk” for poor health differs from vulnerable populations. “A population at risk is a population with a common identified risk factor or risk exposure that poses a threat to health (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014, p. 189). For example, a population at risk for cardiovascular disease consists of all adults who are overweight and hypertensive (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). A population at risk is “characterized by a homogeneously high level of exposure to a single risk factor” (Shi & Singh, 2011, p. 704) and all individuals in an “at risk” group can potentially develop an adverse health condition due to some risk factor. For example, lifestyle-related risk factor such as smoking, places all smokers at risk for developing lung cancer.
However, not everyone who is at risk develops health problems. Some individuals are more likely than others to develop health conditions for which they are at risk, which makes them more vulnerable (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014a. A vulnerable population “is a subgroup of the population that is more likely to develop health problems as a result of exposure to risk or to have worse outcomes from these health problems than the rest of the population” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014a, p. 719). These groups often experience multiple cumulative risks that increase their morbidity and mortality, secondary to factors such as poverty or low socioeconomic status (Lundy & Janes, 2009). The risk factors rarely act in isolation, rather “the interaction among

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