According to Chin (2005), populations at risk are the individuals that are mostly susceptible to disease such as underprivileged, weak, incapacitated, economically disadvantaged, homeless, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with low knowledge or education, victims of abuse or maltreatment, and individuals with social risk elements such as isolation . While vulnerable population is a group or groups that are more possible to develop health-related problems, have more trouble gaining access to health care to address those health difficulties, and are more likely to experience a poor consequence or shorter life span because of those health conditions. That is, there are provoking factors that place individuals at greater risk for persistent poor health status than other at-risk individuals (Maurer, 2013).
Risk and vulnerability are interrelated to each other.
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Couple with fact that the individuals has an income below the poverty level, no health insurance, and stressors related to living conditions, he would be more likely to be vulnerable to ongoing poor health status than an individual with similar risk factors but with an adequate income and health insurance. The man in poverty (Maurer, 2013).
Whereas those individuals with biophysical features are vulnerable such as the developing fetus, infants, children and older adults are vulnerable, individuals with acquired biophysical issues such as chronic illness, those with alterations in functioning due to trauma, and altered immunity also become more vulnerable to poor health outcomes and those that are born with congenital anomalies and with variations in cognitive and physical abilities may be at more dangerous and risky (Hufflin,