Module 1 Written Assignment Part 1: In most societies there are variations in the levels of wealth, material possession, power, and authority amongst individuals. These variables are usually related to one’s occupation, race and the diversity of access to things like education and health care. All of these resources impact individual status in society, and take part in classifying people into social classes. Precise social class is difficult to identify, as it consists of two fundamental aspects. The objective aspect pertains to one’s occupation, race, age, and other solid facts; meanwhile the subjective aspect portrays one’s values, behaviorisms, and his/her way of life. Americans assume that health care is the key to good health, however there is little evidence for this belief. There is always something beyond medical care. Much evidence reflects that the way in which people live, learn, work, and play has a greater impact on one’s health. There are also many factors referred to as ‘social determinants of health’ that affect Americans ' health in homes, work environments, and communities. These social determinants serve as barriers standing in the way to better health. By surpassing these social determinants, and by implementing a healthy lifestyle, the well-being of the general public will only improve. Location is often overlooked when analyzing the public’s health, despite the fact that it plays a major role in a community’s well-being. Differences in mortality, morbidity, and life expectancy vary dramatically both within and between countries. Zip codes may be more important than genetic codes; school files may be more telling than medical files; time spent at work may be more relevant than time spent at the doct... ... middle of paper ... ... It is the community 's responsibility to organize and trigger a response from the federal government. Additionally, implementing the education of healthy lifestyles through schools allows the youth to foster good habits. For example, teaching female students the process of being a good mother will allow for future mothers to create healthy families. Focusing on the youth is a great way to ensure a bright future. The tricky part is that once action has been taken, it must be maintained. This means the community’s population must value and appreciate the various operations taking place, along with the upkeeping from community officials themselves. As Sir Michael Marmot intuitively remarked “health inequalities are unnecessary...we do know how to create the correct conditions but it is the responsibility of the global community to decide if this is a priority for us.”
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are increasingly becoming a major problem of Public Health around the World. The impact of resources and material deprivation among people and populations has resulted in an increase in mortality rate on a planetary scale. Social determinants of health are defined as the personal, social, economic and the environmental conditions which determines the health status of an individual or population (Gardner, 2013). Today’s society is characterized by inequalities in health, education, income and many other factors which as a result is becoming a burden for Public Health around the world. Research studies have shown that the conditions in which people live and work strongly influenced their health. Individuals with high levels of education and fall within the high income bracket turn to have stable jobs, live in the best neighborhood and have access to quality health care system than individuals who have low education and fall with the low income bracket. This paper is to explain different social determinants of health and how they play ...
Irwin, A. & Scali, E. (2005). Action on the Social Determinants of Health: Learning from Previous Experiences - A background paper prepared for the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/action_sd.pdf
According to the World Health Organisation (2017) the social determinants of health are defined as the conditions where people are born, grown, work and live, which also includes the health system. The social determinants of health determined populations health’s outcomes and therefore linked with health inequalities (WHO, 2017)
Socio-economic class or socio-economic status (SES) may refer to mixture of various factors such as poverty, occupation and environment. It is a way of measuring the standard and quality of life of individuals and families in society using social and economic factors that affect health and wellbeing ( Giddens and Sutton, 2013). Cockerham (2007 p75) argues: ‘Social class or socioeconomic status (SES) is the strongest predictor of health, disease causation and longevity in medical sociology.’ Research in the 1990s, (Drever and Whitehead, 1997) found out that people in higher SES are generally healthier, and live longer than those in lower SES.
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.
Most of these articles also argued that healthy policies by themselves cannot achieve the expected health improvement.1-3,7-13 This is why the US healthcare access cannot be improved without paying attention to the social and environmental needs of the poor Americans, who in most cases are at the receiving end. The social determinants of health can only be improved through actions targeted at the factors that improve life.1-3,4-5 Government policies should be translated into actions that are centered on enhancing the conditions in which people live, work, play, and grow.1,3,12 The situation that people are born into should not control their destiny, access to healthcare or other opportunities in life, because it will be then unfair and unjust. 1-3,7-13
In today’s society, when an individual talks about social class they refer to the car an individual drives, the amount of money they make or even the school they attend. In the time it takes an individual to read the sentence above, a person made a decision primarily based on their social class. Social class is one of the most pivotal forces that affect individuals in their daily lives. It is quite common for individuals to think that money is the main factor for the inequality of power instead it is the class one belongs to and one’s class position. To some degree, social class can influence behaviour and create competition within families. The way families perceive the dominant group as being more entitled to the
Social determinants of health have attracted the attention of governments, policy makers and international health organisations over the last three decades (Hankivsky & Christoffersen 2008). This is because social conditions which people are born in, live and work play an important role in their health outcomes (WHO 2015). According to Kibesh (1200) social determinants drive health disparities, disrupts the human developmental process and undermine the quality of life and opportunities for people and families (ref). Thus, several theories have been developed over the years to provide in-depth understanding of the social determinants of health and to reduce health inequalities (Hankivsky & Christoffersen, 2008). However, there is still significant
The social determinants of health are the life conditions of individuals that influence their overall health status. In ideal circumstance the determinants will positively impact an individual’s health, but if the social determinants occur in unfavorable variations they will serve as barriers instead. This paper will draw reference on this subject matter from the case study of Ann and Madie, a lesbian couple from rural Nova Scotia. The aim of this paper is to explore the ways in which the social determinants of health act as both reinforcements and deterrents in the health care system, as well as explore the ways in which the indicated deterrents can be mitigated.
There are many social determinants that are present in our society, yet many of these determinants are not discussed. This is due to the fact that categorizing and discussing social groups and determinants is often seen as controversial. Although this may be true, comprehending and discussing these determinants are essential, as many of these determinants affect our health. These determinants affect our health simply by altering our own actions as well as the environment around us. Thus, comprehension of social determinants, the environment, and its ultimate connection with an individual’s lifestyle is essential in assessing many of the public health issues prevalent
Social determinants of health has been a large topic for many years and can have a positive and negative effect on individuals, families and communities. (World Health Organisation, 2009) The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. Social determinants have many factors and in this essay education will be the main social determinant of health discussed and how this could have an impact on the physical and mental sides of health.
Heathy People 2020 emphasized that social determinants play an important role in the health of an individual. Examples of social determinants include availability of resources to meet daily needs, transportation options, access to mass media and emerging technologies, or exposure to physical hazards and toxic substances. For example, unsanitary housing is associated with exposures to mold, moistures, dust mites, or even lead. Places that are absent of sidewalks, bike paths, or recreational areas can discourage physical activity for some communities. As a result, these conditions in different settings can affect a person’s quality of life. Poor health outcomes are often corresponding to the interaction between people and their physical or social environments. For that reason, policies and interventions are implemented to ensure a healthier
The health of an individual and their communities is affected by several elements which combine together. Whether an individual is healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment.1 To a greater extent, factors such as where an individual lives, their relationships with family and friends, the state of their environment, income, genetics and level of education all have significant impacts on health, however the more frequently considered factors such as access and use of health care facilities regularly have less of an impact.6 Determinants of health is a term which was introduced in the 1970s as part of a broader analysis of research and policy on public health. Researchers argued that there was a lot of attention and too much expenditure on health being dedicated to individuals and their illnesses, and little or no investment in populations and their health. It was decided that public health should be more concerned with social policies and social determinants than with health facilities and the outcomes of diseases.7 The determinants of health include social and economic environment, physical environment and an individual’s behaviour and characteristics. The environment of an individual determines their health, holding responsible an individual for having poor health or acknowledging them for good health is inappropriate. Individuals are not likely to be able to control several of the determinants of health. These determinants that make individuals healthy or not include the factors above, and numerous others.6
In traditional societies, people were highly divided in social class. For instance, individuals that were born in rich families were classified as top class citizens. This made it possible for these individuals to enjoy privileges that other lower class citizens could enjoy. For instance, the schools these children born in rich families attended defined the kind of friends they would keep. There were strict doctrines in behavior mode and training to behave in line with a child’s social class was strongly upheld. The middle class and the rich would interact in rare occasions. On the other hand, the middle class and the lower class citizens would also interact in rare occasions. Current societal setting still lingers in this challenge.
Thank you for your contribution to the post. Like you, I think that raising public awareness about the social determinants of health is an important step to alleviate some of the issues. I really enjoying reading when Jones & Barlett (2014) explaining with details how we deal with determinants of public health during our daily routine. I believe that bringing up this idea for the public through formal and informal ways of education it is an important action to minimize issues, especially for behavioral and cultural determinants. Personally, I see the social determinant more challenging than the cultural and behavioral, because it is fundamental the participation of several segments of the society, applying efforts with the same purpose and