Health Disparities In San Joaquin County

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.

Health has been influenced by many factors such as poor health status, disease risk factors, and limited access to healthcare. All these factors are due to social, economic and environmental disadvantages. According to the World Organization (WHO) (2015), “the social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities, which is the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries”

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 today’s society, there are many different factors that can contribute to one’s overall health and well-being. Since there are so many different factors that can affect one’s health, there are inequalities that exist among people and this is knows as health disparity. "Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States” (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2015). Health disparities can be associated with factors such as: socioeconomic status, education, gender, race, ethnicity, age, mental health, and religion. There are certain health problems that can affect different groups more than others, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS (Surgeongeneral.gov, 2015). One example of a specific population in the United States that is affected by health disparities is the African American Population. While African Americans are affected by various health disparities, one that affects this population more prominently is heart disease.

Many factors contribute to differing racial and ethnic health needs, including culture norms, religious mandates, and health disparities. The health disparities refers to specific differences in disease incidence, health outcomes, quality of health care and access to health care services that exist across racial and ethnic groups (Mandal, 2014). Disparities may result from inadequate access to care, poor quality of care, cultural issues and social determinants.

These disparities are obvious in some key measures of wellbeing including life expectancy, the risk for disease, and access to health care (Disparities in Health, 2015). Historically, the major factors contributing to shorter longevity and high rates of disease are overcrowding, poor sanitation and low availability of treatment facilities. However, the change of theses socioeconomic

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Satcher (2010) reports that health inequities are “systematic, avoidable, and unjust” disparities (p. 6). He also states that the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that social conditions are the most important determinant of a person’s health. Social conditions “determine access to health services and influence lifestyle choices” (Satcher, 2010, p. 6). These determinants must be addressed in order to reduce health inequity. Inequity can be

For this paper and hereinafter health disparity is defined as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage. Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory, or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion.”(healthypeople.gov). This definition is from Healthy People 2020, the guide for the Nation’s health promotion.

A person’s health behavior has an effect not only on themselves, but also to a community due to the possibility of a risky behaviors. Genetics are a health disparity when in reference to the genes a person may inherit which can cause certain diagnosis and diseases. Social circumstances can increase a person genetic and health behavior to cause more health disparities that could have possibly been avoided. Lack of income and affordable health care also cause health disparities in reference to not being to afford annual doctors visit as well as a routine dentist

Many factors combine together to affect the health of individuals and communities (The determinants of health. n.d.) Whether people are healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment (The determinants of health. n.d.) To a large extent, factors such as where we live, the state of our environment, genetics, our income and education level, and our relationships with friends and family all have considerable impacts on health, whereas the more commonly considered factors such as access and use of health care services often have less of an impact (The determinants of health. n.d.).

The impact of SDOH has the largest effect on children, who account for the poorest segment of the population in the U.S. (Garg, Toy, Tripodis, Silverstein, & Freeman, 2015). Public health has played a significant role in the way we look at health care delivery. Although factors specific to individual’s, such as genetics which influence health, health outcomes cannot be confined to looking at genetics alone, nor can biomedical interventions be the only factor for improving health. Social and environmental factors have long been acknowledged as contributing factors to understanding health and providing treatment.

This essay will discuss ways in which a person’s socioeconomic class and his/her social situation can have an impact on his/her health, using examples. We believe that there is a direct link between socioeconomic/social class and health (Adler et al. 1994). I will be defining the key terms: socioeconomic and health, social class then proceed to discuss about how poverty, income, employability, environment and housing can impact on a person’s social situation and their health.

Magnitude of Problem: Many of us aren’t aware the current health status is indicative of society’s overall health condition currently; however, it is worth noting that the past health status or current health status is not indicative of future health status. The magnitude of this problem is exacerbate by income and poverty rates across the United States. Compelling data have shown that Americans of lower socioeconomic status (SES) are at greater risk of getting high blood pressure, getting obese, getting heart disease, getting chronic diseases, and getting mental infirmity.

Society and culture play an important role in affecting the health and well-being of individuals or a community. The social and cultural factors that determine the health in a society or a culture are income, education, social wealth, occupation, societal support, community structure, accessibility of health services, structural inequality, attitude, cultural beliefs, and legal channels. These factors are linked to produce a disproportionate burden or risk of death, disease, disability and ill health on a particular population or group known as health disparities. Health disparities are induced through a process known as social stratification, which is when individuals in a society are divided into subgroups base on attributes that are considered important by society such as sex, income, race, and education. Stratification is responsible for formalizing inequality in the way of unequal access to valuable resources, such as education, health care, dental care, and housing.

Health inequalities are likely to affect different population groups in a variety of ways. Certain groups of people and particular factors are linked to an increased risk of experiencing health problems. Commentators such as McKeown (1979) have made the case that medicine has a small impact as a determinant of health. Others have also argued that aspects of living conditions, associated with varying levels of economic and social development are more significant in determining whether or not people become ill (Curtis, S. 2004) (Check Clark Sociology text book to identify groups that