Media Article And The Social Determinants Of Health

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.

Peggy Ward-Smith’s article entitled Obesity – America’s Health Crisis discusses of the obesity epidemic in America

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”

Health as a whole is determined by the quality of life, as well as an individuals’ ability to create personal positive social and physical environments. These environments include homes, schools, workplaces and the community as a whole. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2003), the social determinants of health are conditions in which people live, work, and grow, where these factors are influenced by money, power and available resources. There are five main aspects of social determinants: economic stability, social/community health, general health, education, and the surrounding built environment, where each determinant refers to multiple key issues. These determinants commonly affect health, the functioning of people, their quality of life, as well as social, economic and physical risks. Examples of social determinants include:

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)

“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

Social determinants of health encompasses ethnicity, gender and social class. It is seen as the essential

The sociological approach to health and illness focuses on the social determinants of health and how this affects the health of society. It explores where we are on the socio-economic ladder and how this determines access to healthy food, a healthy lifestyle, education, income, accommodation, healthcare, transportation and good working conditions. This approach considers culture, the behaviour of individuals and the social structures we live in, with a belief that when treating health and illness if all these areas are considered and changes are made in conjunction with modern medicine then the health of society will be improved. “If the major determinants of health are social, so must be the remedies. Treating existing disease is urgent and will always receive high priority but should not be to the exclusion of taking action on the underlying social determinants of health” (Marmot, 2005: 1103).

Health, illness and death are not randomly distributed across societies but rather determined based on ones class and socioeconomic status, their education and literacy, employment/working conditions, social and physical environments, food insecurity, social support networks, housing, poverty and inequality. These determinants have clear affects on the inequality of health and how it is

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.

The aim of this essay is to examine the influence that socio-economic status has on an individual’s health.

“Healthy individuals cannot survive when society is sick.” On the other hand, aspects of social structure influence health and illness. Social factors not only affect life expectancy, but the possibilities the one will experience diseases and in turn, the health care that they will receive.

It seems plausible to suggest that distal causes impact on health outcomes. Kroenke (2008) points out that, for instance, poor housing conditions are reflected in low health status both in short and long-term. As well as the distal materialistic aspect of social factors, other factors including social cohesion, group norms and social structures are also determinants of health as it is evident that such factors are particularly important for women especially in advance age (Blaxter, 2001). Due to the significant addition that studying social factors brings to understanding health, differences in social factors between groups have been extensively studied using various measures such as socioeconomic status.

The prevalence of obesity in industrialized countries is high and rising. (Reidpath, Burns, Garrard, Mahoney, Townsend, 2002) Obesity is a national epidemic, it is estimated that half the Australian population is overweight. (Reidpath, 2002) It is also a major risk factor for obesity-related diseases, including non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2), coronary heart disease, hypertension, and various cancers. (Reidpath, 2002) This essay will examine the current state of obesity with a public health approach. Including social, cultural, environmental, individual and health service determinants. No, obesity is not just an individual problem the essay will outline how other factors including school environments, social-economic status, individual perceptions and education can influence the increasing obese population.

The article “How Britain got so fat” was written in 2014 by Sarah Boseley, who is the health editor of the British newspaper “The Guardian.” The article follows one significant theme namely obesity, including one solid case with a woman named Georgia Davis and the subjectivity of the experts in the food and nutrition industries.