Summary: Social Determinants Of Health Equity

“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”

In Sridhar Venkatapuram’s (2010) article Global Justice and the Social Determinants of Health, the main argument presented is of the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) 2008 final report and examines the lack of general support the findings have received. The main concept of this analysis appears to mirror that of the CSDH’s report on “whether science, linked with ethics, can motivate global action, and whether the public scrutiny and deliberation…can meaningfully be brought together in global health policy” (Venkatapuram, 2010, p. 120). The premise behind this concept is that by bringing professionals together to address the strengths and weakness of the model, the theory behind social determinants of health will gain momentum.

These are a few potential links between social inequalities and the health of the population: income and wealth distribution, unemployment, the ageing society, gender and health, mental illness and suicide and disability and dysfunction. I am going to discuss each of these and see the health impact on people in each group.

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

Throughout the course we discussed the causes of health disparities which really impact me a lot, due to my directly work with minorities. I hear many times that stress can kill a person, and based The Death Gap stress it focus on structural violence throughout the book, it is the policies and laws that determines your access to a quality life. Minorities are segregated into certain communities where there is poverty, violence and less access to resources and that has a major impact in the quality of health and life that leads to premature death. African American are victims of discrimination when trying to buy a house on a more well off area, or rental discrimination. Income inequality affects minorities and access to health care. We need

“Health disparity: A higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality experienced by one population group relative to another group” ("Disparities in Health," 2012, para. 7). There are many factors which contribute to the disparities in health among certain groups here in the United States. The low income populations seem to be at the greatest risk when it comes to health inequality. Whether this is due to lack of education, access to services, or even neighborhood safety, the divide between the higher income populations and that of lower income populations are growing at an alarming

Improving the health of the socially and economically disadvantaged is a major task. Many Americans are living with poor health because of their socioeconomic statuses and it has many negative effects on their long term health. Improving access to health care is not enough to help fix the lower death rates among low income families. Our social status in our economy has large effect on our lives including how we are able to live our lives and in tern it has large measurable effects on our health. San Antonio is no exception, in low income areas the mortality rates by diabetes are stunning and need to be changed in order to help improve the lives of so many people. In my essay I will be proposing a plan to help lower

Social determinants of health inequity reflect deeper social divisions, which generate multiple risks that are reproduced over time. Hierarchies of power must be critiqued through the lenses of class and race to make tangible the seemingly abstract connections between social and economic determinants and distribution of health inequity. Racism finds refuge in various forms of material exploitation; narrow interventions that fail to address the root causes that undermine the health and well-being of members of the community will ultimately fail.1 The treatment of Mexican immigrants with tuberculosis (TB) by health officials in Los Angeles from 1914 to 1940 is a telling story that made salient the insidious impact of poverty and race on health, and it provides an important lesson for public health officials.

In the segment of Unnatural Causes, “In Sickness and in Wealth”, the documentary highlights the health disparity created by different socioeconomic statuses. There are several factors that lead to these health differences, including but not limited to policies or lack of policies, and racism. Unnatural Causes draws on several family stories to exemplify the wealth health gradient. Within the family anecdotes, I was most intrigued by the idea of health access. This concept is highlighted throughout the different life cases in the segment. However, it is not just limited to these individuals, communities, and time period. Although health access is considered a universal right, access is not equal among individuals in the US. Access to health is determined by an individuals’ wealth. This is exemplified by the poor health outcomes of those in low-income communities; whereas, individuals in higher income communities have better health outcomes.

Sociologists propose that the similar correlation between major health disparities and indicators of socio-economic status can be explained by the concept of class. Class is a social concept created by describing the unequal distribution of wealth, power and resources. The concept proposes that it is a hierarchal system that classifies people into lower, middle and upper class, however these terms can be used interchangeably with others such as working and elite classes. The disparities in health, mentioned above, and indicators of class include measures such as mortality, morbidity and disability rates.

Harrods presumably lacked an open culture and not everyone was being treated equally in that the part time workers were not included and informed adequately, considering the use of active listening and feedback/dialogue. There was a communication and collaboration server which had only full time staff inclusive in it, until recently when the part time staff got added, which is likely a case of unequal treatment. There is also a possibility that the full time staff were rewarded differently from the part time staff which can be related to Atkinson’s Inequality measure which is a measure of income inequality used to determine which end of the distribution contributed most to the observed inequality (Atkinson, 1970). This measure is actually criticized

The article, Tackling the Root Causes of Health Disparities Through Community Capacity Building, written by Anthony Iton, explains the relationship between an individuals income and their overall health. Because of the underlying fact that wealthier individuals lead an all over healthier life, those whom fall under the poverty line are at severe health disadvantages.

As a country Canada prides itself on Universal health care for everyone equally (Macqueen, 2011). However, there are many discrepancies seen in the health care that Aboriginals and non-aboriginal Canadians receive (Weeks, 2013). As a result, Aboriginals health is deteriorating in nearly every aspect on a much larger scale than the rest of the Canadian population (Weeks, 2013). As reported in the article Aboriginal seniors face more challenges staying healthy, accessing care: report from “The Globe and Mail” aboriginal seniors are struggling accessing health care and staying healthy (Ubelaker, 2013). Aboriginals are much more susceptible to health issues such as chronic diseases, disabilities and infections and are having to travel unethical distances in order to access health centres (Weeks, 2013).

The United States is world renowned for having the best health care if not the most accessible. Citizens have at their disposal a plethora of hospitals, physicians, and therapists to improve their well-being. Statistical data was taken back in 2010 under the Central Texas Region and studied health care coverage and income in regards to the community. The data displayed in the surveys heavily suggest that income/ health in general have a high correlation. The issue that arose with the given data imply that those who are on the lower end of the income spectrum subsequently have no health care coverage and poorer health than those with higher income. In any case with high correlation there are a number of factors influencing the statistical evidence, and in this case sociological barriers are present in regards of inequality and health care.

In the critical reflection 2, we will be recalling the term health inequality. And, find out the importance of needing a policy to answer the necessity of health disparity. In the first section of the paper, two of the policy solutions will be introduced and will also mention how these policies affect population, and the policy maker. The other section will state the pros and cons of the policies from the writer’s perspective. Finally, the conclusion emphasizes on the significance of answering health disparity by using the policies and how it helps to reduce the inequality.