Social Determinants Of Health In Australia

Another U.S. study found that low availability of emotional support and low social participation were associated with all-cause mortality.

“Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people have a greater amount of disadvantage and significantly more health problems than the non-Aboriginal & Torres strait Islander population in Australia”

The Social Determinants of Health are the living conditions people experience, which plays a vital role in shaping population health (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010). Government policy is one of the Social Determinants of Health and also the one that can strengthen or weaken the other Social Determinants of Health such as education, income, employment etc. The Social Determinants of Health for Canadian young adults become worse today while the older Canadians today, young Canadians a generation ago, experience better Social Determinants of Health. This is because the Canadian government and policy maker put less effort to develop public policy so that the Social Determinants of Health are not strengthened today (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010). I choose

There is growing research into what has become known as the social determinants of health; the central claim arising from this research is that “various social factors have a strong influence on population health and on inequalities in health outcomes across social groups”. (Preda & Voigt, 2015) Social determinants of health are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality of life outcomes and risks. Conditions such as social, economic, and physical in various environments and settings such as school, church, work, or neighborhood have been referred to as “place”. (HP 2020) According to Healthy People 2020 (2016) understanding the relationship between how population groups experience “place” and the impact of “place” on health is fundamental to the social determinants of health. Healthy People 2020 (2016) have developed an approach to social determinants by organizing a “place-based” framework, reflecting five key areas of social determinants of health. Each of these five determinant areas, economic stability, education, social and community context, health and healthcare, neighborhood and built environment; reflects a number of critical components that make up the underlying factors in the arena of social determinants of health. Differences in social, economic, and environmental circumstances lead to health inequalities that are socially produced and therefore

What might explain these statistics, or at least serve as correlations, are the determinants of health. If the reader is not familiar with the determinants of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides an explanation of them. In essence, these health determinants are factors that have significant impact upon one’s health. The main determinants for health are: socioeconomic status, where the rich and upper classes tend to be healthier; education, where low education is linked to stress, lower self-esteem and poorer health choices; environment, where purer air, cleaner water, healthier workplaces and better housing contribute to being healthier; health services, where access to services and proper equipment all contribute to health; as well as gender, genetics, culture and social behaviour (WHO, 2016). As there are so health determinants, where essays can be written on one alone, it is not within the scope of this essay to critically analyse each determinant for Indigenous Australians. With this in mind, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014) documents an extensive list of data for Indigenous health, most of which discusses issues which are out-of-scope for this analysis. What is relevant, however, is outlined next. Across the board, in 2011, the Indigenous population was younger than the non-Indigenous population due to high fertility and mortality rates with those

emphasis was on relationships to family, group and country rather than the development of an

There are various politico-economic elements and policies; environmental and employment conditions; social and cultural influences and lifestyle of indigenous Australians which affect their health. Above all, there is poverty which contributes towards their poor health circumstances (Australian Indigenous Health InfoNet, 2014). The Indigenous Australians are powerless and generally face various kinds of deprivation that includes exclusion, material deprivation and unavailability of opportunities for study and employment. They are not capable enough to take part in society: socially, politically and culturally (Public Health Association of Australia, 2001). It is a general concept that when a person does not feel secure, is unemployed, not connected to his/her friends

Page 3 communities today. Specifically this disadvantage is evident in many areas of community life, with Indigenous people being generally exposed to more risk factors for poor health than other Australians (Thomson, MacRae, Burns, Catto, Debuyst, Krom, Midford, Potter, Ride, Stumpers and Urquhart, 2010, para. 49). Examples of risk factors include social factors such as dispossession, dislocation and discrimination, educational factors such as poor schooling, resulting in much lower literacy and numeracy skills, economic factors such as lower income and higher unemployment, access to good quality health care and GP's, and physical environmental factors such as poor and overcrowded housing. Together these disadvantages provide for a higher likelihood of poor lifestyle choices such as alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use, a poor and unbalanced diet, obesity and a lack of regular exercise (Thomson et. al. 2010, para. 49, Couzos et. al. 2008, p. 79).

Secondly, a Position Statement from the Australian Medical Association points out various social determinants of health [standards and influences] for all Australians. For example: A persons’ socio-economic status will invariably be a defining foundation for an individuals’ state of health and wellbeing; stress – this can invariably due to psychological and social factors, and this can be damaging to the over-all health and wellbeing of a person; early causes i.e., teratogens. The influence of environmental agents can disturb the [healthy] development of a fetus (e.g., if the zygote is exposed to a teratogen, these factors can have a long-lasting effect on the cognitive development of a child (social and emotional), their family, and the ongoing health and welfare of mother and/ or carer. Furthermore, social inclusion or exclusion; the impact from people experiencing poverty will further disadvantage them from: seeking health care and consequently individuals/ families or communities become [more] susceptible to various diseases e.g., diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease [CVD], alcohol/ drug abuse and [other] psychosocial [issues], psychopathological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, substance abuse, dementia and antisocial personality disorder); education – it is noted that people with lower levels of education have lower literacy skills, and this in part will also mean that a person is less likely to gain satisfactory employment, again, the

The barriers of mental healthcare access are a notable issue for many Canadians and Canadian youth. Nearly 20% of Canadian youth suffer from a mental illness or disorder, however, only 1 in 5 youth who have a mental illness receive the appropriate mental health care (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2014). These barriers may include structural barriers such as the uninsured costs of mental health services, the long waiting list for services that are insured and attitudinal factors such as fear of stigmatization (Sareen et al. 2007). The barriers of the mental healthcare available to our youth may be a contributing factor as to why suicidal death is the second leading cause of death among Canadians aged 15-24 (Canadian Mental Health Association,

Poverty and war are two social determinants of health that interact directly to shape an individuals life. Eldon Starlight in Richard Wagamese’s Medicine Walk can be identified as an alcoholic who struggles with mental injuries. Many social determinants of health impact Eldon’s health and quality of life, shaping who he is. As we examine the effects of poverty and war we come to understand their influences on Eldon’s life. Poverty and war can have permanently altering effects on an individual’s life.

The Aboriginal and Torres Striate Islander population are spread across all parts of Australia, from large urban cities to small country towns, from the remote tropical north of Australia to the fringes remote communities of the central deserts. Indigenous Australians speak a multitude of languages and belong to hundreds of distinct ancestral groups. Therefore the health and welfare of Indigenous people living in large urban cities are different to those that are living in small country towns and again different to those living in the remote tropical north and those in the outskirts of towns in the central deserts. I will be conducting an extensive literature review of existing papers and data from government agencies on the social determinants

The social determinants of health are arguably more important than the biological determinants of health in determining what the health of an individual will look like through their lifetime. There are many social determinants of health such as culture, disability, income, education and social environment but these detrainments do not impact a person’s life individually. Social determinants do not work in isolation rather they indicate that a number of factors and or determinants of heath determine the health and the quality of life of individuals; in Richard Wagmese’s Ragged Company, social environments and culture are two social determinants of health that work off

Poverty plays a huge role on why there is a large percent difference in perception of health. Due to the poverty gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, it becomes obvious why Aboriginals tend to suffer from higher amounts of chronic diseases and health-risk behaviours. In terms of income, Statistics

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