Personal Impact Paper Bernard R. Bossert Jr. NUR 427 October 4, 2014 Professor Beard Personal Impact Paper According to The Center for Managing Chronic Disease at the University of Michigan (2011) website, chronic disease can be defined as any medical condition in which the treatment expectation is one of control, rather than cure. The website further states that up to 70% (1.7 million) of deaths in the United States can be attributed to chronic disease. This statistic is not limited to the United States. The World Health Organization (2014) website states chronic disease accounts for 60% of all deaths worldwide, and half of those deaths occurred in people under the age of 70. The diagnosis of a chronic disease impacts a person in
Non-communicable diseases A non-communicable disease (NCD) is defined as a disease which is not infectious. Such diseases may result from genetic or lifestyle factors. Such diseases may result from genetic or lifestyle factors. Current evidence indicates that four types of NCDs (i.e. cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases) account for almost two third of all deaths globally, with 80 per cent of these deaths occurring in low-income and middle-income countries. NCDs are a leading threat to health and development. Yet, these diseases are preventable. By eliminating shared risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol, almost 80 per cent of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes and over a third of all cancers could be prevented. In addition, improved disease management can reduce morbidity, disability and death and contribute to better health outcomes. Overall, proven cost-effective strategies do exist to prevent and control this growing burden.
Communities are sometimes largely unaware that social factors rather than medical ones, such as income, and employment status, shape our health. Our health is also determined by the health and social services we receive, and our ability to attain high education levels, food and safe housing, among other factors.
“The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life” (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2009). The social determinants of health can be divided into 5 categories, age, sex and hereditary factors, individual lifestyle factors, social and community networks, living and working conditions and general socioeconomic, cultural and
Acting in different levels, from micro to macro, those determinants have effect in a complex interplay of a multidirectional flow between the individual and the social scope. They are normally and roughly grouped into categories, such as individual factors interpersonal factors, institutional and community environments, broader social, economic and political influences. That concept allows explain why some people and groups are at higher risk for develop some diseases instead of others, and that is a very important key for a better understanding of its prevalence and to design more effective prevention strategies.
Health Promotion Essay- The Determinants of Health The determinants of health are economic and social conditions that affect people’s health status. These influence the living and working conditions that impacts people’s everyday living condition. Factors such as the place and the environment we live in, genetics, educational level or work status and income, as well as friends and family are some of the aspects that affects our health condition. On the other hand, the people that have an access to good health care and have financial stability are less susceptible and are often less affected. (NANB, 2009)
In a research, Dr. White head took specifies seven determinants of health disparities: natural biological variation, health damaging behavior, transient health advantage of one group over another, health damaging behavior through limited choice of lifestyle, exposure to unhealthy stressful living and working conditions, inadequate access to essential health services, and natural selection or health-related social mobility (B & P, 2002) From there, she placed them in two categories; those that are unavoidable or fair and others that are avoidable and unfair. Determining what’s avoidable and what is unavoidable is not simple because there many factors to consider. Conditions based on age are generally unavoidable. Other inequalities like genetically base conditions are to some degree unavoidable. In the next section I will break down the seven determinants and how they relate to a condition of being unequal and also how they can be ameliorate. Let us take a look at the first three sources of disparities: natural biological variation, health damaging behavior, and transient health advantages of one group. All are determined to be unavoidable.
Health determinants are the factors that can have a positive or negative impact on a person’s health. Many things can affect how healthy we are, from a complex interplay between macro to molecular influence to influences from society (for example, the prevalence of drug and alcohol use), to individual factors such as genetic make-up. Education, employment, income, lifestyle, psychosocial and physiological factors can also influence a person’s health and wellbeing. Health can also be significantly affected, and modified to some extent, by the quality and timeliness of the health care services we receive, including preventative health care such as education, screening and immunization.
Summary Environmental barriers, such as, not having access to healthy food can have an adverse impact on a person health, especially if their lives are further complicated by a chronic illness. For instant, diabetes which is a disease that affects at least 16 million Americans; African Americans and Latinos are the groups that are affected the most, as compared to the White population (Horowitz, Colson, Hebert & Lancaster, 2004). African Americans and Latinos are more likely to have more complications due to diabetes as well as a higher mortality rate (Horowitz et al., 2004). Some populations of people are prone to having a high prevalent rate of diabetes; therefore, research done at a community level is necessary to help figure out why
According to Mason et al., chronic conditions are the number one cause of death in the United States (Mason et al., 2016 p. 275). These chronic illnesses include pulmonary disease, arthritis, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological disease, alcoholism, mental health disorders, gastroenterology conditions, lupus, liver disease, cancers, and many more. While some conditions have uncontrollable risk factors such as age, genetics, gender, and race, society has a large contribution to these poor health conditions as well. Tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use, physical and emotional stress, lack of exercise, sleep deprivation, and poor dietary choices all increase the chance of developing a chronic illness.
If you asked most people to describe what they consider to be the main thing affecting our countries health they would probably describe something that falls under the category of medical care when in reality this makes up only 25 percent of what determines a population’s health (Where Health Begins).The rest of the influences that effect the health of a population come in the form of a person’s genetics, behaviors, socio-economic status, physical environment, access to healthcare, and even the policies and laws put in place around them. Many of these factors are not under the control of the individuals which is why it is important for us as future physicians to understand the barriers that face the people we will be serving in order for us
Americans today are faced with a number of health issues, mainly as a result of poor diet, lack of exercise, and lifestyle choices; but, of course, genetics does play a part. My family, for example, has a history of several issues. My father suffers from diabetes and asthma, which my children have as well. My older sister and I both suffer from stress, which is most likely causing our chronic heartburn and my headaches; and, both my husband and I are borderline obese, which is a gateway disease to many others. While some of these issues are linked genetically, many of them are due to lifestyle, which can be viewed as both negative and positive. Negative because we brought these ailments onto ourselves, but positive because we can
According to Donald D. Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic on Healthy Weight, “Eating well – choosing a plant-based diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains – also will reduce your risks of some of our nation’s biggest killers and related conditions. Many cancers, heart disease and high blood pressure, among other conditions, are linked to diet, most notably to diets high in fat and saturated fat. Even without weight loss, adopting a healthier eating style can be beneficial. (Hensrud 49)”
Determinant factors are fundamental to the prevention of disease, illness, and injury because it illustrates health dispositions on why some individual or population are in better health than another counterpart. HIV/AID is the population health issue I selected. About 1.2 million of people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and approximately 1 in 8 (12.8%) are unaware of their infection. HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities, many of whom are medically underserved. Our health status depends on how we live our daily lives, how we interact with the environment in which we live, and our support systems (Knickman & Kovner, 2015).
An adult individual has been chosen to provide an overview and look at the determinants that affect their health. For the purpose of this essay, the individual will be referred to as George. This is to maintain the individual’s confidentiality and anonymity; therefore, a false name has been used. Consent has been gained to base this essay on the individual.