Social Determinants Of Health Essay

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.

In order to propogate the knowledge of above determinants and improve health status of Canadians, Health Canada has set up a number of community heath organizations and agencies. The work of these agencies can consist of creating awareness, improving socio-economic status, advocating better working conditions and so on. Unfortunately, many groups such as aboriginal people, recent immigrants and people with disabilities experience challenges in accessing these resources and still cotinue to lead an unhealthy life.

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 have a positive or negative effect on the health of individuals and communities (Dudgeon, 2014). Aboriginal health recognizes that social inequalities are associated with health inequality. For example, lack of education, homelessness and low income are clearly associated with ill health and affect human development. This can contribute to chronic stress which impacts on the body's immune system, circulatory system, and metabolic functions resulting in mental health problems (Baum,

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

Homelessness is a major health policy issue that needs to be addressed. The amount of people that are becoming homeless in Canada is increasing drastically. This population of people face some barriers that limits their access to healthcare, in that way it results in poor health outcomes. The question is how can the country improve access to healthcare for its homeless population. This essay will talk about homelessness and access to healthcare and why it is important, several social determinant of health issues that are relevant to this policy issue, and what role values have played in shaping this health policy issue.

Racism is a social determinant of health in the indigenous population and is acknowledged as a cultural determinant of health in Australia (Priest et al, 2011, pp. 546-550a). The Australian Human Rights commission states “About Racial Discrimination” that Indigenous individuals experience discrimination, unfair treatment and racism due to how they look or where they come from (Australian Human Rights Commission). According to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health plan 2013-2023, it states that cultural determinants of health are defined as a strength based perspective meaning the acknowledgment of stronger connections to culture and land. This links in with the social determinants of health, where people are born, live, their age and work (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Those with higher SES have the necessary resources, that would help them cope better with stressors and strain as opposed to those with lower SES. This is another example of how social inequality, can lead to negative or poor health outcome. The problem is that why haven’t this issue of social determinant of health been addressed through public policy in Canada. Some of the barriers to addressing social determinants of health, through public policy in Canada using the political economy approach includes; Canada identification as a liberal welfare state, and the relative power and influence of the business sectors, labour, and civil society in shaping SDOH(Raphael, D., 2010, pg.17). In a liberal welfare state like Canada, the market is responsible

Our book describes Social determinants of health (SDH) as “the social conditions into which people are born and that affect their daily lives and overall wellbeing as they move through the various stages of life” (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2017, p. 124). The Healthy People 2020 Initiative lists in our textbook display many different examples of SDH. The top four social determinants of health that I believe most significantly affect an individual’s health are the following: 1) Access to medical care services: I selected this as the most influential health determinant factor because without access to medical care, an individual is more prone to poor health, disease, and illness. Having access to quality health care and being uninsured or underinsured

Question 1: Social Determinants in Health Reflect on how they may have influenced the type, variety, and/or need for the health or medical services delivered at your internship site Topic Choosen: Access to Medical Care a) Presence of services delivery systems based on principles of equity of access. Answer: The World Health Organization continues to address social determinants of health through their Commission of Social Determinants of Health. Using evidence based research they have developed the foundation of the Rio Political Declaration and the five key “Action Areas”.

Social determinants of health are social, economic and physical factors that affect the health of individuals in any given population. There are fourteen social determinants of health but Income is perhaps the most important of these because it shapes living conditions, influences health related behaviors, and determines food security. In Canada, people with lower incomes are more susceptible to disease/ conditions, higher mortality rate, decreased life expectancy and poorer perceived health than people with high incomes. In numerous Canadian studies and reports, there has been more emphasis on health being based on an individual’s characteristics, choices and behaviours, rather than the role that income plays as a social determinant of health. Although Canada has one of the highest income economies in the world and is comprised of a free health care system, many low income families are a burden on the system because of the physical and mental health issues influenced by income insecurity. Low income individuals are heavier users of health care services because they have lower levels of health and more health problems than do people with higher incomes. This essay will address income as a social determinant of health in three key sections: what is known on the issue, why the issue is important and how can health and public policies address the issue. The main theme that runs through the essay is the income related health inequalities among low income groups compared to

Further, scientists have identified five determinants of health which may be either “biological, socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavior, or social in nature” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). These determinants include things about the citizens such as their sex, age, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, income, gender, unhealthy living conditions, and if they have health insurance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Skolnik (2016) further clarifies key health status indicators including infant mortality rates, life expectancy at birth, maternal mortality rate, neonatal mortality rate and under-5 mortality rates

Secondly, liberal feminism has been criticised because it tends to assume that all women accept their gender identities in a passive way. Liberal feminism also does not take race or class into consideration. Marxist feminists believe women's subordination is down to the influence of capitalism. Women are seen as a reserve army of labour.' Companies only hire them when they really need them, and they do less important jobs than men, making them more disposable. Women change jobs more frequently than men, so are more vulnerable at times of redundancy, they tend to be less skilled, and capitalist ideologies locate women in the home.

Understanding social factors in health has become a central issue recently and a large number of studies has been dedicated in this regard. Social factors are phenomena seen in the interaction between individuals and social groups. In this essay, the importance of understanding such factors and their influence on health are addressed by studying socioeconomic status. Studies results are incorporated to explain health inequalities that arise from socioeconomic status and possible explanations including the material and structural, social selection, cultural and historical explanations cited in the literature are briefly discussed.