The Social Determinants Of Mental Health

Depending on their nature, social relationships can influence behavioral health, psychological health, physical health, and mortality in a myriad of ways (Umberson and Montez, 2010). In general, healthy and high-quality social relationships are those characterized by support and mutual respect; whereas unhealthy and low-quality social relationships are those deemed toxic through stress and disrespect.

Social inequities in health result from unequal distribution of social, economic, cultural and historical determinants. It is vital to identify these factors to reduce health inequalities and to improve health status of people. This essay depicts information on two social determinants of health that affect different vulnerable groups in terms of their socioeconomic position and ethnicity.

The Canadian Mental Association says in any given year, 1 in 5 people in Canada will personally experience a mental health problem or illness. Among people that have died from suicide, it’s been estimated that 90% were experiencing a problem with mental health or illness. Yet nearly 60% of people under 25 who’ve receives treatment for mental illness report facing stigma and discrimination. Both of which been shown to be serious barriers to

This essay will use the Johnson family. The Johnson household includes a 35 year old single mother of a 15 year old son. Mother, Yvonne, completed a bachelor degree in the marketing field. Yvonne after graduation was unable to find a marketing job locally instead she works full-time as an administrative assistant for a larger company. Yvonne is currently unsatisfied with her position as she feels overworked, over qualified, and underappreciated at her current company. Yvonne’s 15 year old son, Randall is a grade 10 athletic, who had been accepted as a starting position on the high school baseball team. In-between school and extracurricular activities, has a part-time job. Randal’s have regular contact and visits with his father and step-mother as they live in a neighbourhood nearby. The health and well-being of the Johnson family has to do with economic and social conditions known as social determinants of health (Kozier et al., 2014, p. 132-133). This paper will discuss three major social determinants of health that has affected the Johnson family which includes stress, and illness; employment and working conditions, and Health Services.

When asking any Canadian citizen why he or she loves Canada, one of the main reasons will usually include the free health care. The health care system is one aspect of Canada that makes citizens patriotic and proud and makes those from other countries, like the United States, a bit envious. All around the world, Canada is known to have a reputation for the great healthcare and free health care policy. With such a wonderful system, it is hard to believe that the mental health care system is subpar compared to all other aspects of the health care system. Due to lack of funding, support, and accessibility, Canada’s mental health care system is not able to provide satisfactory care for those with mental illness.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious killer worldwide. However, over 95% of TB deaths occur in developing countries (WHO). TB is found to be a curable disease when appropriate medications and treatment are taken. Using the biomedical system is not sufficient to eradicate TB because medical interventions will fail if social determinates aren’t taken into considerations. The biomedical system is a key component in diminishing TB because it allows for diagnosis and control. Social determinants of health play a huge role in shaping one’s health. Three main social determinants that acts as a barrier in curing and preventing TB are income, food insecurity and access to health care.

Mental health prejudice is the discrimination of people with mental health issues. Metal health prejudice effects can be felt through the entire world. Government mandates like CMHA’s broad mandate work to promote Income Security and Productivity, Health Research and Training Affecting Women, Advocacy and Persons with Long-Term Mental Health Problems. The government in Canada spent an estimated $7.9 billion in 1998 to help people with mental health issues and. ($4.7 billion was spent on mental health care and $3.2 billion was spent on mental illness and early death prevention. According to the Report on Mental Illness in Canada, October 2002. EBIC 1998 (Health Canada 2002) in 1999, 3.8% of all admissions in general hospitals (1.5 million hospital days) were due to anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, major depression, etc.

It is no secret that the lives of indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders have a greater disadvantage and therefore experience an extensive amount of health problems more than the non-Aboriginal & Torres strait Islander population in Australia. is a direct result of the lacking in the social determinants of health. Their suffering is considerably high due to their tormenting past grief and traumatic events, however in the present they continue to face acts of racism. This overall has created a negative effect on their health by causing mental and psychological illnesses further impacting their education, employment, etc.

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

The field of healthcare that I would choose would be mental health. I have always wanted to work in this field and have a special place in my heart for those suffering from mental illnesses such as depression. Mental illnesses come with a plethora of challenges that I would have to deal with. For instance, those with mental illnesses face stigma and are looked down at in society. The very label of being mentally ill makes it difficult to empower clients. The sociocultural perspective “suggests that labeling people as mentally ill typecasts them and limits their ability to obtain other roles” (DuBois & Miley, 2014, p. 335). To further compound this debilitating label, those who are mentally ill do not simply have one issue. Interpersonal relationships,

It would also be interesting to see how a combination of these social determinants interact to cause inequity—for example, high education-level mixed with unemployment, such as college students.

The aspects of psychology in this article includes mental health as well as social and cultural psychological analysis. The article discusses how diverse online social communities can be; some people may manipulate the group with misinformation, but others may seek comfort and support through them bringing them socialization and improving their health mentally. Culturally many people rely on an online community in place of physical social interactions which simply cannot be done as there is just not enough personal tie to an online community to compensate for the real thing.

Everyone is different in society. There are special individuals, which are affected by mental health illnesses. Mental health issues can affect society both negatively and positively. There are cultures that treat these individuals like the reincarnations of gods. On the other side, there are cultures that isolate these individuals and look for cures to these pathologies. Mental health illnesses are important because they have to be studied to understand their cause, whether it may be biological or environmental. These issues are important because like every type of illness they have to be delicately studied, focusing on treatments to either cure them or reduce the symptoms of the pathology. These people were either conflicted with the ideals of society or they were praised by it. Cultures, which didn’t accept them, closed them up into asylums. Patients inside these facilities were brutally used as guinea pigs for their experiments. The way these people were treated shows how cruel and ignorant people were to the unknown. By learning from histories mistakes we can move forward in improving our society and achieve greatness.

Poor mental health is the largest cause of disability and is connected with poor physical health, poor relationships, poor education and work prospects (Gov, 2014). Deinstitutionalisation in the 1950s led to community-based mental health and in turn brought a real but hidden issue of mental health into the visibility of the larger public sphere. Mental illness was a topic that was mostly treated only by individuals’ families and kept as a private matter and was off limits to outsiders apart from medical professionals (Borinstein, A. ).

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”. Common mental disorders include anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, drug and alcohol dependency. The trigger for these mental disorders can be social, economic, culture and environmental factors. In Low and Middle income countries(LMIC), it is estimated that 76 to 85% of people with severe mental disorders do not receive treatment for their mental health conditions. (Demyttenaere K, 2004). This is referred to as ‘Treatment Gap’(TG), that is difference between the number of people with mental health disorders and the number of those people who can access appropriate services.