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Social determinants of health
Social determinants of health
DEFINE AND DISCUSS social and physical determinants of health
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Disease and chronic illness are infiltrating our communities. As a country, if we don’t do something now,” by 2025, chronic disease will affect an estimated 164 million Americans. “. In 2010 the Department of Health and Human service (HHS) launched 10-year plan aimed at creating” high-quality, longer lives, which would be free of preventable disease, disability and premature death and would do this by creating social and physical environments that promote good health for all “. Since launching this program the CDC health insurance companies, YMCA and many other community leaders have jumped on board to partner with HHS in making this a reality. Through managed care programs, and community initiatives we have been able to make strides in population
...county, which indicates that there is room for improvement in our health care system. Research studies have shown inside our community that these outside factors in our population increase our risk for developing chronic diseases. Minority groups, those with little to no health insurance, smokers, the overweight and obese population, people who live below the poverty line or have little socio-economic status, and those with low access to medical care. By being able to guarantee health care with the Affordable Care Act and to increase funding for social services such as Cal Fresh, Medicare, Medical and many other programs that our government has developed, we will then be able to help people who fall into those specific categories, as well as those who are genetically inclined to developing chronic diseases, and to ultimately be in control of our own health outcomes.
For the last five years of my life I have worked in the healthcare industry. One of the biggest issues plaguing our nation today has been the ever rising cost of health care. If we don't get costs under control, we risk losing the entire system, as well as potentially crippling our economy. For the sake of our future, we must find a way to lower the cost of health care in this nation.
According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, they have assessed the nation’s health system annually since 2003, reported that, in 2015 the health care delivery system has made progress to achieve the three aims of better care, smarter spending, and healthier people (City of White Plains Health Equity Report, 2017). However, they continue to promote health equality and reach the goal of New York State being the healthiest. But most importantly aiming to reduce or eliminate racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health
The health of the American people lags behind those from other developed countries. Federal public health agencies have a wide range of responsibilities and functions which includes public health research, funding, and oversight of direct healthcare providers. It has been a long time since changes have been made to the way the federal government structures its health care roles and programs outside of Medicare and Medicaid (Trust, 2013). With healthcare reform on the horizon now is the time to invest time and money in prevention, not medicine, making it a top priority to improve health and prevent disease. Funding efforts at all levels of the public health continuum need to focus on developing programs aimed at such leading initiatives as tobacco cessation, improving nutrition, supplying safe workplaces, and increasing physical activity in all ages of the population. People should have equal access to quality preventative medicine and education.
“Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans.” ( United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Healthy People 2020 , 2011). It acts as a national guide for disease prevention and health promotion. There are various objectives and goals which serve as the guideline to achieve overall improvement in health . ‘Educational and Community-Based Programs’ is one of them. According to U.S Department of Health and Human Services the main goal of these programs is to “Increase the quality, availability, and effectiveness of educational and community-based programs designed to prevent disease and injury, improve health, and enhance quality of life.” (HHS, Healthy People 2020, 2011). This particular goal of Healthy People 2020 focuses on increasing the number educational and community based programs to increase awareness about disease prevention and health among every individual of the society. It focuses on educating them on various topics including chronic diseases, substance abuse, prevention of injury and violence to encourage and enhance health. It emphasizes on increasing the quantity and quality of such programs so that a larger population could benefit from the program and gain effective knowledge to achieve a healthy life.
In order to make ones’ health care coverage more affordable, the nation needs to address the continually increasing medical care costs. Approximately more than one-sixth of the United States economy is devoted to health care spending, such as: soaring prices for medical services, costly prescription drugs, newly advanced medical technology, and even unhealthy lifestyles. Our system is spending approximately $2.7 trillion annually on health care. According to experts, it is estimated that approximately 20%-30% of that spending (approx. $800 billion a year) appears to go towards wasteful, redundant, or even inefficient care.
Healthy People 2020 is a program for the promotion of health and the prevention of diseases, launched by the Department of Health and Human Services in December 2010. According to healthypeople.gov, this program has four overarching goals which are first to achieve healthy, longer lives free of preventable diseases, injuries, and premature deaths; to achieve health fairness, eliminate differences, and improve all groups’ health; also to produce social and physical environments that encourage good health; and last but not least to promote life’s quality, healthy development, and healthy behaviors through all life stages. This program has a vision of a community where people live long, healthy lives. Healthy People 2020 offers a comprehensive
Elderly people, as a whole, use up much of the nation's healthcare budget; six times as much money is spent by the federal government on health services for those over 65 than those under 18 (Callahan, 1997). More people are entering into this age group than are dying due to medical advances that can now prolong life for years, using up hundreds of thousands of dollars on one feeble life that could possibly help hundreds of younger people and thereby prevent future health expenses (Caplan, 1987). America's healthcare budget is not large enough to support every patient adequately- instead of a few getting sufficient healthcare, many are merely getting a half-way supported (Callahan, 1997). With so many last- ditch efforts available, th...
Social Determinants of health is the “conditions in which people are born, live, work and age that affect their health” Healthypeople.gov. (2017). Social Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020. [online] Available at: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. The determinants of health are important because it helps create policies to make changes, as well as improving public health conditions by addressing the different health outcomes an individual can face and improving the need for healthier conditions. Healthy People 2020 organizes the determinants of health in both a social and physical determinant which has an impact on health.
The movement for changing the Health Care system believes that there is a need for change because of the problems that the system faces today cannot be handled. Every month, 2 million Americans lose their insurance. One out of four, 63 million Americans, will lose their health insurance coverage for some period during the next two years . 37 million Americans have no insurance and another 22 million have inadequate coverage . Losing or changing a job often means losing insurance. Becoming ill or living with a chronic medical condition can mean losing insurance coverage or not being able to obtain it. Long-term care coverage is inadequate. Many elderly and disabled Americans enter nursing homes and other institutions when they would prefer to remain at home. Families exhaust their savings trying to provide for disabled relatives. Many Americans in inner cities and rural areas do not have access to quality care, due to poor distribution of doctors, nurses, hospitals, clinics and support services. Public health services are not well integrated and coordinated with the personal care delivery system. Many serious health problems -- such as lead poisoning and drug-resistant tuberculosis -- are handled inefficiently or not at all, and thus potentially threaten the health of the entire population. Rising health costs mean lower wages, higher prices for goods and services, and higher taxes. The average worker today would be earning at least $1,000 more a year if health insurance costs had not risen faster than wages over the previous 15 years . If the cost of health care continues at the current pace, wages will be held down by an additional $650 by the year 2000.
Improving population health necessitates a variety of the contributions from health entities. These health entities can be state, local governments, hospitals, health centers, and community organizations. Unfortunately, these contributions and services are not equally distributed throughout the population. Lack of a supermarket in a neighborhood limits residents’ access to healthy food and other resources. Furthermore, ethnic minority and/or low-income communities are burdened with several health disparities such as greater risk for diseases, or limited access to healthcare services (Jackson, 2014). The National Cancer Institute reported that individuals from medically underserved population are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage diseases because they have inadequate resources to education, or health insurance. When an individual does not have adequate access to healthcare services, healthy disparity grows larger in the overall health of a
Public health as it is implicated in the lives of the community – it is important to conceptualise what this might mean. Moreover, public health has seen as a multidiscipline perspective in which it can be defined on many levels, and I find that it could be elusive to understand its meaning. By simple understanding of public health, I refer to an approach derived by Winslow (1920) and Baggott (2000).
Nearly 50,000 people, including 30,000 children, die each day due to poverty-related problems and preventable disease in underdeveloped Countries. That doesn’t include the other millions of people who are infected with AIDS and other incurable diseases. Especially those living in Sub-Saharan Africa (70%), or “the Third-World,” and while we fight to finish our homework, children in Africa fight to survive without food, or clean water. During the next few paragraphs I will give proof that poverty and disease are the two greatest challenges facing under developed countries.
In the terms of community investment, Cultural Anthropologist Victor Turner used the term community that emerges during a collective ritual and is characterized by social equality, solidarity, and togetherness (Liburd 1) From this perspective, Turner argues that a connection of commonality, interest and preservation are elements needed to not only increase awareness of environmental issues in efforts to secure protection against toxic agents from entry into the community. I want to argue six points to consider in building the characteristics of a community that is deemed effective in combating against environmental injustice and community disenfranchisement for the people of color. First, a community must incorporate a membership or sense of identity and belonging. In efforts to raise awareness about problems in the community, neighbors need to establish a sense of identity through actions, beliefs and shared common interest in order to bring unison in the community. Second, a community with a common symbol system such as language is often used to conceptualize community. For instance, researchers argue that technical language remains a prerequisite for most deliberative forums, often creating an intimidating and discipline barrier for lay citizens seeking to express their disagreements in the language of everyday life. Speaking the language of science, as well as the jargon of a particular policy community, remains an essential, but often tacit, credential for participation in environmental health decision-making even in the new deliberative forms. (Corburn, 43) Third, a community must have shared values and norms that support, promote and educate the ideology of environmental health issues to educate and empowers community lea...
Community Health is the study and development of health in different communities. Community health tends to focus on area which includes primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. It is also related to policies and a broad health services ranging to prevent diseases, promote health, and to rehabilitate the community. This is dedicated to individuals belonging to a local community and also the features of this community and its environment. With this community health nursing can be explained as a practice of taking care of the family from the child trough to the elderly on how to live a healthy and productive life, they provide a continuous service making sure that the physical and mental state of all individuals is good and also not prone to any chronic or risky diseases. Community health nurses are not restricted to the care of a particular age or diagnostic group. Contribution of all clients of health care are encouraged in the development of community activities that contribute to the promotion, education, and maintenance of good health. These activities require full health programs that pay special attention to socio-ecologic controls and specific populations at risk. Community health nurses are valued for their adaptive and ability to provide care in many ways, including community health clinics, churches, homeless shelters, and schools. Their role is to provide full care to patients within their homes, at organized events such as health fairs, and at agencies and institutions serving people who have particular health needs. They also lead or work together with other health care professionals, organizations, political figures and members of the community to promote health for their community. They develop and apply corporat...