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What Does Social Determinants Of Health And Well-Being Mean

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Section 4: Social Determinants of Health and Well-being- what they are and their relevance to your chosen community. (Homeless) Explain what social determinants of health and well-being mean? Discuss the impact of the social determinants of health and well-being for the homeless. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2021) defines social determinants of health as the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. This definition emphasizes a holistic view of health, encompassing not only the absence of illness but also the presence of overall well-being in physical, mental, and social dimensions. Social determinants of health refers to the social …show more content…

Bakibinga and Rukuba-Ngaiza (2018) show that the main reasons for health inequalities are differences in income, employment, housing or education, which can make the circumstances of people’s daily lives more challenging. This can increase the likelihood of poor health in addition to people becoming poorer, which in turn means that they are more likely to live in more deprived neighbourhoods. In Scotland, people born in the 10% most deprived areas and people from poorer backgrounds generally do less well than those from more affluent areas (Scottish Government, 2022). Deprived areas have higher risks to health because of poor housing, high rates of crime, poorer air quality, a lack of green spaces and places for children to play and more risks to safety from traffic (Marmot, 2010). Individuals in lower socioeconomic groups are identified as a group who may face challenges in accessing healthcare services and adopting healthier lifestyles (The Health Foundation, 2018). Exposure to neighbourhood deprivation over the life course is damaging to later life health. This indicates that improving neighbourhoods as early in life as possible would have the greatest public health improvement (Jivraj et al.,

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