Social Determinants Of Population Health

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”

I assume that in today’s world, there is a lot of information and scholarly research available that shows factors such as economic status, income, social situations, education, ethnicity, employment, availability of affordable housing and geographical (place where one was born and lives) conditions have a tremendous impact on the health and well-being of individuals, countries and communities (Amaro, 2014). Inequalities in health and well-being are created by social determinants and economic conditions for many in our community (Brannigan &Boss). The people that are affected the most are people with low income and minority groups here in the United States. This creates health disparities and unequal care (Brannigan &Boss). In many developing and under-developed countries, the situation is dire: lack of modern health services, illiteracy, poor economic conditions has created a cultural situation of desperation and unhealthy behaviors. Corruption by African governments is rampant. To improve the health and wellbeing of communities, we need to start thinking of how we can create a culture of health.

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

these issues though those might be temporary. A final solution will have to be a national policy change in immigration, however, until then we could pursue some international options to aid undocumented immigrants in the United States.

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.

Assessing communities by Wards have been articulated through a set of constructs, referred to as social determinants of health. Social determinants of health consider how neighborhood and social conditions collectively impact outcomes on individual and community levels. Access to health protective resources like clean air and water, healthy food, recreational areas, high quality education, employment wages, and decent housing have an impact on the health of individuals living in the community. Therefore, if good health is not shared equally in Ward 2 by Jacksonians, then understanding these factors that contribute to health and differences in health status is essential to identifying and implementing solutions to this challenge. Disparities

Interestingly there is a large number of people that are not in the proper state of health. The purpose of using social determinants is to create the optimal social/physical environment that will contribute and allow individuals to enjoy a healthier lifestyle, and thus become healthier. ("Social Determinants of Health - Healthy People", n.d., p. 01) The Five key areas that are addressed in the social determinants of health are: Economic Stability, Education, Social and Community Context, Health and Health Care, and Neighborhood and Built Environment. Even though these five determinants of health are different, they are all oriented towards the common objective to better the environment and living conditions so people are empowered and supported in making healthier lifestyle choices and develop the habits that will support these choices. ("Social Determinants of Health - Healthy People", n.d., p. 3)

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

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.

In this article, the author discussed that health system and health services should play a more active role in addressing social determinants of health by adapting an expanded population health model and embracing health equity perspective. This article is distinct because it conveyed that improving the health of the population tends to conflict with reducing health inequalities. The author also pointed out that in order to reduce health and social disparities among the population, health care providers should have a comprehensive understanding of the population they served. The article is relevant because it supports my claim that adapting health promotion model can assist health care providers in determining the health and social needs of

Despite these obstacles, Triple Aim objectives are extremely important in part because it focuses on improving population health. But, what exactly is population health? Unfortunately, it is difficult to define because population health is an emerging concept that does not have a universally agreed upon definition. In 2003, Greg Stoddart and David Kindig proposed population health is “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group” (IHI, 2015, para. 1). Although the IHI currently uses this definition, it only focuses on improving health outcomes (Stoto, 2013, p. 2). Similarly, Dunn and Hayes’s defined population health as

This course gave me an over-all picture of the current status of our health as a nation, as well as the global population health. This course gave me an idea of what I can do to contribute as a DNP prepared practitioner. We all know that public health is constantly evolving in response to the needs of individuals, families and communities around the world. I believe that this course has given me the knowledge and skills to help improve population health starting at the primary care level. This course has helped this writer meet a program objective by designing and critiquing population –focused interventions, applying principles, theory and research about public health interventions to resolve population-focused issues

This course introduces methods for evaluating health standards in populations and the effect that health inequalities have on the health of different populations. This course also focuses on the intersection of epidemiology, health management, and social sciences. This course is relevant to my field because it will give me an overview of the considerations public health organizations must deal with in order to operate effectively