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. Better research on immigrant health and health outcomes would go a long way to shining a light on how to tackle these problems. The current debate in the research concentrates on social determinants of health such as acculturation, which of course influences a lot of other health and healthcare decisions made by immigrants. However, only focusing on social determinants of health undermines the importance of other factors that also heavily affect immigrant health in the United States. Specifically in the case of undocumented immigrants, the debate need to focus on systemic issues impeding access to healthcare as well as pre and post migratory social, political, and economic factors. Some examples that Martinez et al listed include, “specific environmental conditions such as pollution and contamination of water, as well as pre-and-post migration experiences ranging from rape, sexual assault, and abuse to extortion and several other specific geopolitical and economic factors” (966). Social strife, political persecution or famines are real problems that can affect an individuals’ health and specifically their mental health for the rest of their lives. Torres et al urge “those involved in public health research, policy, and practice” to
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.
“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”
Education has an imperative correlation to health outcomes. The following presented case study will demonstrate an example of how the social determinants of health have a direct impact on health status. Mrs. Smith is a 68-year-old female who was bad a diagnosis of type I diabetes for 37 years. She has developed a pressure ulcer on her left foot, which has increasingly worsened and become necrotic in certain areas. She has had uncontrolled diabetes for many years and often does not prescribe to her medication regiment “because those things don’t really work anyways.” She often has difficulties self-administering her insulin doses or understanding which dosage she should take of the short-acting insulin. Additionally, she has had a poor
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
Norma James is a 65 years old widow who lives alone. Mrs. James has a medical history of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension and has also been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Mrs. James has been a smoker since her 20s and smokes about a ½ pack of cigarettes per day. She has two adult sons who lives far and has minimum contact with them. She does not work and has a very limited savings. She relies on Old Age Security Benefits for income. She has been living in the same neighbourhood for years but has only few individuals who she considers friends. She prefers to spend her time alone at home watching television, reading or watching over her six cats.
Some researchers in the field of public health analysis have increasingly focused on how social determinants of health influence health outcomes and disparities (Clarke, C. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Lundell, H. C., 2012). They have also explored strategies for raising public awareness and mobilizing support for policies to address social determinants of health, with particular attention to narrative and image-based information Clarke, C. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Lundell, H. C., 2012). The relationship between the social determinants of health and health disparities has been well researched. In developing policies or programs to reduce and, ultimately, prevent health disparities, upstream contributing factors, known as the social determinants of health, must be taken into consideration when addressing such issues (Dubiel, H., Shupe, A., & Tolliver, R., 2010). Progress toward reducing health disparities will involve support for community-based strategies, enhanced the understanding of SDH, and increased diversity of the health-care workforce. The coordinated efforts to address disparities take into account strategies and actions that build on community infrastructure and an increasingly diverse and culturally competent workforce (Jackson, C. S., & Gracia, J. N., 2014). These efforts will need to overcome low public awareness and concern about social determinants of health; few organized campaigns; and limited descriptions of existing message content. The established relationships
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
This essay will explore housing as a social determinant of health and the effects it has on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of families, communities and individuals. Poor housing and poverty may be a result of overcrowding, dampness, mould, insufficient heating and poor ventilation. It can have detrimental effects on the behaviour of individuals, how families cooperate and friendliness within communities. Poor housing can cause anything from colds and flus to cardiovascular disease but also may affect mental health. This may lead to individuals experiencing depression and anxiety. It is also common for children’s development to be disrupted due to poor housing and poverty. Different housing-related conditions results in different physical and mental health illnesses for different age groups, for example, overcrowding affecting the respiratory system is more common in childhood whereas insufficient heating having a negative affect and causing excess winter deaths is prone to those age 65 and over.
Another U.S. study found that low availability of emotional support and low social participation were associated with all-cause mortality.
Social determinants of health is the way society influences the health of an individual. Money is the main component that impacts health, however, many different social factors also play a role in health of an individual. Health can depend on the conditions in which a person is born, grows and lives in, this can include housing and social choices of family such as smoking. The World Health Organisation says that evidence suggests that the further down the social ladder you look the more likely the risk of serious illness or more frequent illnesses and a lower life expectancy. Poorer economic status can lead to a domino effect throughout life.
The decline in immigrant health status over time can be attributed to the acculturation process (Singh & Siahpush, 2001; Akresh, 2007)This hypothesis implies that culture that initially induces better health outcomes and lower mortality rates among immigrants begins to erode as immigrants acculturate and adapt to the negative health behaviors and lifestyles within the host society (Akresh, 2007; Angel, Buckley, & Sakamoto, 2001).In addition, the literature stresses other factors, such as: lack of access to the health care system (Abraído-Lanza, Chao, & Flórez, 2005), stress associated with migration (Newbold & Danforth, 2003; Biddle, Kennedy, & McDonald, 2007; Dean & Wilson, 2010), exposure to racism and anti-immigrant discrimination as well
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.
In the last few years, nurses and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) are under the spotlight of the media and the public due to issues addressed in documents such as The Francis Report (2010). This is good in a sense though as it gives us the opportunity to better ourselves as HCPs and improve the standard of care for everyone. It is now a widely known idea that there are many different factors that affect our health and wellbeing not just biological factors as believed to be the case not very long ago when a biological view was taken when addressing a person's health. However, this has all changed for the better where now healthcare is individualised, holistic and takes in to account the individuals own circumstances i.e. the social determinants of health and wellbeing (social determinants), not a simple one size fits all approach. This essay is going to discuss some of these factors so that we can learn to reduce these inequalities in healthcare and make great healthcare more accessible to everyone. The factors that will be discussed are individual lifestyle choices, housing conditions and .
A group of fellow students and my self conducted a public health walk in the area of hackney borough. Our aim was to observe the community and how their surroundings affected their health. On 4th November 2014, we met at 10am and started our walk at St. Johns church. Prior to this day we met up to plan on our walk and how we will conduct it. While on our walk we observed how diverse and cultural the area was, we observed the people socialising in the street, the services available for these people, we also the observed the amount green space there was in the community, we observed the transport that was available to them, we also observed the amount of fast food that was in the area. While making these notes we took into account how these might affect the social determinants of health in the community. Social determinants of health is the risk factors that effect an individuals health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) define these factors as the Social gradients, Stress, Early life, Social exclusion, Work and Unemployment, Social support networks, Addiction, Availability of healthy food, Availability of healthy transportation and active travel in a community. Throughout this assignment I will look at the availability of healthy food and the individuals lifestyle and how they contribute to the social of determinants of health in the community.
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