Social Determinants Of Health Essay

According to the dictionary, the word health is “the state of being free from illness.” At a first glance, this defination seems to be very direct and simple, however the meaning of the word ‘health’ nowadays is much more complex. The above definition pretty much sums up our view of health in the first half of the 20th century.

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:

Health is a concept that relates to and describes a person's state of being. It is highly subjective as good health means different things to different people, and its meaning varies according to individual and community expectations and contexts. In this paper the definition of health, care and wellbeing is looked from an Aboriginal perspective taking into account the history of Aboriginal health and contemporary issues in health and wellbeing of Aboriginal communities.

Poverty is the single largest determinant of health. It has a widespread range of negative effects, both on the physical and the mental level, making it a significant public health concern in many countries. Poorer people tend to live shorter lives because there’s a clear correlation between income and access to healthcare. This disparity draws special attention to the significant sensitivity of health and the social environment.

There are three main determinants of health, these are social determinants, biomedical risk factors and behavioral risk factors. All these determine how long people are likely to stay healthy or avoid injury (Australia Institution of Health and Welfare, 2016). Social determinants of health refer to the social and economic conditions that influence people’s health status such as living, working and growing conditions (National Rural Health Alliance LTD, 2017), for example people with poorer social determinants have a higher risk or poor health compared to people with more advantages (Australia Institution of Health and Welfare, 2016). There are many different determinants of social health however social exclusion has a huge impact on people’s health and well-being in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (Eckermann, Down, Chong, Nixon, Gray & Johnson, 2010). Social exclusion describes the lack of recourses, opportunities, participation and skills (Australia Institution of Health and Welfare, 2016), It is when groups or individuals are excluded from social factors.

Have you ever thought about putting yourself in the shoes of someone who is marginalized or considered vulnerable? As for I, I do not have to live everyday wondering if I will be attacked, harmed or the way I will be treated based on who I am. For many people, this is something that they deal with every day.

In this publication, Social Determinants of health: the solid facts, public policy and the new knowledge about social determinants of health are related. There are ten topics that are covered throughout this publication. Those topics are, “ the lifelong importance of health determinants in early childhood, and the effects of poverty, drugs, working conditions, unemployment, social support, good food, and transport policy.”(Marmot). Each topic in this publication is focused on the “role that public policy can play in shaping the social environment in ways conductive to better health.”(Marmot) In each chapter that I read included evidence to back up each assumption and or theory as to why poverty leads to certain health problems. They also included

The social determinants of health are factors that can affect a person’s physical or mental health, A few examples of these factors are; Unemployment, Housing, Education, Lifestyle factors, Transport, Access to health services etc. These types of social factors can lead to insecurity, stress, anxiety, isolation and lack of control of home life, work and health status. These factors contribute to the development

The Determinates of health are social factors that contribute to an individual’s overall health. On April 2014, an article was published in The Toronto Star Magazine discussing the recent increase of obesity rates in children and the dangers associated with this rise (Sick Kids, 2014). Theresa Boyle discusses the cause of high risk factors in adolescents, and the different health conditions that can result from obesity such as: stroke, heart disease, diabetes and fertility issues for women. The three social determinants of health that provide an explanation for the rise in childhood obesity are, income and income distribution, early childhood development and aboriginal status. Each of these determinants

Mrs Samira Azizi, a 56 year old with an Afghan cultural background living in the community require a nursing care, particularly post-operative dressing change following bowel cancer surgery. She was living with her family in an old farmhouse, 45 minutes away from town, unable to drive and with limited English language understanding that puts her at risk client living in the community (Henderson and Kendall, 2011). The community nurse will visit her for the first time. The social determinants of health most likely had an impact on the life expectancy of the vulnerable populations (Gupta, 2004). Applying the primary health care principles such as equity, cultural competence, community participation and maximum self-reliance, health promotion and disease prevention, access to health services and resource, use of acceptable technology and involvement of government departments to Mrs Azizi’s care will reduce the prevalence of health inequities amongst vulnerable individual (Kralik and Van Loon, 2011;Talbot and Verrinder, 2005). The importance of undertaking safety and risk management issues to the client’s home environment, client itself, nurse and wider community before and after the home visit aims to promote safety and potential hazards within a community that can be prevented from happening.

A communicable disease chain is the mechanism by which an infective agent or pathogen is transmitted. The chain requires an infective agent, a source of infection, a mode of transmission and a host. An example of an infective agent could be bacteria, a virus, fungus, protozoan or helminth. The source of infective agents can be transmission from host to host, an infected human or animal, insects, soil or livestock. The mode of transmission is how the infective agent is carried from host to host. Transmission can be by air, ingestion or physical contact. To complete a life cycle or to replicate, the infective agent requires a host.

Social determinants of health are defined as the structural conditions in which people are born, grow, live, and age which include but are not limited to culture, racism, education, access to health care, and housing. Although African Americans have come very far from where they began in this country there are still systematic things such as neighborhood and built environment, education, and economic stability that limit the resources and opportunities available to african americans because America is place where capital governs power and success. It is no secret that the world is in a crisis as far as resources such as fossil fuels, renewable energy and access to health care due to the earth’s carrying capacity. In the year 2050 resources will be extremely limited and capital will decide who survives and who has access to resources such as renewable energy, housing, food and health care.

The social determinants of health are defined as the conditions and factors that influence people’s lives as they live, grow, work or age. I have taken the course in order to gain an understanding regarding the factors that influence people’s health, how health policies can target them and how the proper and detailed determination of these factors can help shape health policies of a country. The exploration of all social, economic, political and cultural factors that lead to health issues in a country will help me use the knowledge in my professional life to solve health issues in the population and propagate good health practices for individual and societal benefits. Canada has, for long, been “one of the best countries in the world to live in”, according to the global indexes. Being one of the richest countries around the world, Canada has spent a huge sum of its money on its health care system.

Socioeconomic Status and Health: How Education, Income and Occupation Contribute to Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

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