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 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.

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)

This essay will explore housing as a social determinant of health and the effects it has on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of families, communities and individuals. Poor housing and poverty may be a result of overcrowding, dampness, mould, insufficient heating and poor ventilation. It can have detrimental effects on the behaviour of individuals, how families cooperate and friendliness within communities. Poor housing can cause anything from colds and flus to cardiovascular disease but also may affect mental health. This may lead to individuals experiencing depression and anxiety. It is also common for children’s development to be disrupted due to poor housing and poverty. Different housing-related conditions results in different physical and mental health illnesses for different age groups, for example, overcrowding affecting the respiratory system is more common in childhood whereas insufficient heating having a negative affect and causing excess winter deaths is prone to those age 65 and over.

Better research on immigrant health and health outcomes would go a long way to shining a light on how to tackle these problems. The current debate in the research concentrates on social determinants of health such as acculturation, which of course influences a lot of other health and healthcare decisions made by immigrants. However, only focusing on social determinants of health undermines the importance of other factors that also heavily affect immigrant health in the United States. Specifically in the case of undocumented immigrants, the debate need to focus on systemic issues impeding access to healthcare as well as pre and post migratory social, political, and economic factors. Some examples that Martinez et al listed include, “specific environmental conditions such as pollution and contamination of water, as well as pre-and-post migration experiences ranging from rape, sexual assault, and abuse to extortion and several other specific geopolitical and economic factors” (966). Social strife, political persecution or famines are real problems that can affect an individuals’ health and specifically their mental health for the rest of their lives. Torres et al urge “those involved in public health research, policy, and practice” to

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

As mentioned previously, understanding the available services and health care structure within Australia can be difficult for a refugee. Davidson, N., et al. (2004) discussed the difficulties refugees face finding a regular health care provider due to the structure of visa category entitlements provided by the government. This is also compounded by a fundamental distrust of government services within some refugee cultures. Furthermore Correa-Velez, I., et. al (2005) provides more information regarding refugee health policies and access depending on whether they are in an onshore or

There have been correlations on the health of refugee arrivals and other migrants from developing countries. Having transitioned from camps for eighteen months, the family is at risk of developing or already having infectious diseases. The youngest child in the family being born on camp and in such harsh conditions, it is not rare that the child could have been in contact with a communicable disease. As a result of the social exclusion the family is facing, they are unable to be provided with efficient use of the heath resources that are available to other members of the community. Due to the stressful process of language and social difficulties, research suggests that whilst many migrants arrive in Australia with good health, their mental health tends to deteriorate after the first twelve months in the country (Anikeeva, Peng, Hiller, Roder & Han 2010). In Australia, approximately 93% of the population born overseas have been recorded as suicide deaths (Australia Bureau of Statistics (2012). Like any other refugee family, the Hakimi family will also have to overcome the health challenges they will face whilst settling into a new

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

Migrants face significant barriers to health at every level of the health system. They often face structural and political barriers resulting from the absence of national policies addressing migrant rights, and the lack of equitable coverage by host country health insurance programs. They face institutional barriers as a consequence of national deficiencies in effective, migrant-sensitive health services. Finally, they face individual barriers arising from cultural, social, and linguistic challenges in adapting to new health systems.

The author emphasizes the health care providers’ lack of awareness of refugees and ignorant attitudes towards this group of population. The African refugee clinic mentioned in this paper is well-funded by the Ministry of Health with paid staff, expanded services and improved infrastructure, but healthcare decisions are based on available resources rather than

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.

A person who has been placed outside of their country and is unable, to return due to fear of being persecuted based on race, culture or other factors, is a refugee (Woster, 2012, p. 95). Due to this persecution and fear, refugees often resort to fleeing to other countries for asylum. In light of recent events, the rise of refugees has increased, reaching to a rough estimate of 26, 166 new refugees in Canada alone (Hansen, Maidment, & Ahmad, 2016, p. S9). With the numbers escalating and with the nature of refugee experiences, it is no surprise that the health care system will be severely impacted. In this paper we will analyze the impact refugees can have on our system, and the impact that society and the system has on the refugees. By utilizing Ray’s (1989) Bureaucratic Caring concepts of education and social-cultural factors, we can develop a better understanding of refugee health and therefore work in advance nursing care and the healthcare system to better suite their needs.

Forced migration is defined as, “a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts within their country of origin) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects” (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, n.d.). Since the 1940, this issue has risen steady and affects over a million individuals globally. In 2015, nine out of 1000 people were evacuated by force (Bozorgmehr & Razum, 2017). Health problems can become abundant among forced migrants due to the vast amount of people dwelling within a small camp. Multiple diseases may begin to fester among the refuge location because many people may bring the foreign illness to the location. This may lead to new illnesses in a place that has not experienced that particular type of illness in that area. Because majority of forced migrants are in such crowded quarters, diseases can proliferate quickly throughout the population as a result of poor hygiene and sanitation. This leads to an increase in health care demand; however, due to the increased amount of people in the vicinity these types of services may be limited or unavailable to the individuals. A decrease or destruction of health care to forced migrates can eventually lead to and increase mortality rate (Skolnik, 2016).