Examples Of Social Determinants Of Health

1. The social determinants of health inform the way we use primary health care to help communities to maintain health and wellness. Using relevant examples from the video, identify and discuss how two (2) social determinants of health helped determine the need for the project. HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT is a social determinant of health that I believe has helped determine the need for the project in Kalumburu WA. Many studies have been based on domestic violence & child abuse in remote Indigneous communities with identified relationships between excessive substance use & child abuse.

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

“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”

Access to healthcare varies in rural and urban America. Rural areas are less likely to have specialized services, have less options for primary care, limited public transportation, and greater distances to travel when accessing healthcare. The United States Census Bureau defines urban areas as having 50,000 or more people and urban clusters as having at least 2,500 citizens but less than 50,000 citizens (2015). Rural areas include all population, housing, and territory that is not included in urban areas (United States Census Bureau, 2015). West Virginias percentage of urban population is 48.72%, the percentage of urban cluster is 15.52%, and the percentage of rural population is 51.28% (United States Census Bureau, 2015).

Social determinants of health focus on how social and environmental resources affect people’s health. Another way of describing social determinants of health would be trying to find the root causes of health problems. Some of the factors that determine their health would be: access to medical care, access to healthy food, access to clean water, neighborhood safety, education and health literacy, occupation and job security, and gender. An example of how the MSSP demonstrates social determinants of health is based on low-income.

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.

higher of survival rate than those born to women with no education at all (Sally Murray, 2006). Also, Canadians in the lowest income groups are 50 per cent less likely than those in the highest income group to see a medical specialist, and 40 per cent more likely to wait more than five days for a doctor's appointment. Individuals who live in low-income situations are also twice as likely as those in the highest income group to visit the emergency department for treatment. Researchers have reported that Canadians in the lowest income groups are three times less likely to fill prescriptions and 60 per cent less able to get needed tests because of costs (Carolyn Shimmin, 2015). Education is also an important social determinant of health. People

Social determinants of health are economic and social conditions which influence the health of people and communities. These conditions are shaped by the amount of money, power, and resources which people have. Social determinants of health affect factors which are related to health outcomes. Factors related to health outcomes include: how a person develops during the first few years of their life, how much education a person obtains, having food or being able to get food (food security), as well as, having access to health services and the quality of those services. Determinates of health are factors which contribute to a person’s current state 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

The social determinants of health have been said to be causes of a variety of mental and physical illnesses. There are five main social determinants of health, in agreement with the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and they include: "education, economic stability, health and health care, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context." These five identified factors shape and influence everyone within a community and assist with understanding health across various levels of the socioecological background.1-2

Addressing these social determinants of health has always been a challenge (Carey, Crammond, 2015), but I will try to make changes within small communities first starting with individuals, communities and then slowly making my way up until I reach government level. It might take years of struggle and hard work, but it is something that is worth standing up for so that everyone will know what social determinants of health are and be able to live a better life. References: Carey, G., & Crammond, B. (2015). Action on the social determinants of health: Views from inside the policy process. Social Science & Medicine, 128, 134-141.

The social determinants to health that affect our community are the issues we face as individuals growing up as part of our lifestyle. Income is a major social determinant to health in our social settings since it is dependent on many factors leading to a certain lifestyle if the income is good. Low incomes lead to ripple effects in society, poor housing, lack of adequate food, not balanced diet for the family and lack of proper health services for the family, leading to poor health (Hosseini et al., 2017). Public policy can help by legisling a minimum wage that can help the lowest income earner provide vital basics for the family.

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

A communicable disease chain is the mechanism by which an infective agent or pathogen is transmitted. The chain requires an infective agent, a source of infection, a mode of transmission and a host. An example of an infective agent could be bacteria, a virus, fungus, protozoan or helminth. The source of infective agents can be transmission from host to host, an infected human or animal, insects, soil or livestock. The mode of transmission is how the infective agent is carried from host to host. Transmission can be by air, ingestion or physical contact. To complete a life cycle or to replicate, the infective agent requires a host.

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