The United States reportedly spends over $8,000 per person on healthcare annually. This amount is two-and-a-half times greater than any other developed country in the world (Kane, 2012). However, this is not reflected statistically in the morbidity and mortality rates of its citizens. Many may ask why and what are we missing. To answer these questions, one may need to look no further than their own town and community. In 2013, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported health disparities as a causative factor for the unchanging morbidity and mortality rates in the United States. The World Health Organization defines social determinants of health as “conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age”, and also identify them as the main cause for health inequalities worldwide (WHO, 2013). Health disparities affect people of all ages. The risk of dying before the age of 65 is over three times greater for citizens at the socioeconomic bottom of society than those at the top (Alder & Stewart, 2007). The youngest citizens are not immune to these facts. Infants born to mothers with less than 12 years of education are twice as likely to die during their first year of life compared to those born to mothers with 16 or more years of education (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2008). Healthcare is a continually evolving and changing with aims of improving patient care, cost containment, and research that advances medications and procedures beyond expectations. The majority of focus is on disease processes and treatments. Therefore, the effects of lower economic status on personal health may not be receiving the attention it deserves. The nursing profession is in a unique position to assist in providing the advocacy,... ... middle of paper ... ...on the social determinants of health. Health Promotion International, 26(1), 4-13. doi:10.1093/heapro/daq049 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (RWJF, 2008). Overcoming obstacles to health: Report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the commission to build a healthier America. Retrieved from http://www.commissiononhealth.org/PDF/ObstaclesToHealth-Report.pdf Williams, S. D., Hansen, K., Smithey, M., Burnley, J., Koplitz, M., Koyama, K., & ... Bakos, A. (2014). Using Social Determinants of Health to Link Health Workforce Diversity, Care Quality and Access, and Health Disparities to Achieve Health Equity in Nursing. Public Health Reports, 12932-36. World Health Organization. Social Determinants of Health. (May 7, 2013). What are social determinants of health?. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/social_determinants/sdh_definition/en/index.html on January 16, 2014.
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)
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.
The 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report- The Future of Nursing described the role that nurses have in the current and future US health care environment (IOM, 2011). This report was completed at a time when the Affordable Care Act had been passed and a new emphasis was being put on interdisciplinary healthcare teams, care coordination, value-based payment systems, and preventative care (IOM, 2011). Nursing is the largest profession in health care and with an aging baby boomer populace, the expanded role of nurses will be critical in meeting the growing healthcare burdens (Sisko et al., 2014).
The overall health of the population can be due impart to the living conditions in which they experience, rather than traditional risk factors of health we first think of. The umbrella term social determinants of health (SDH) can be defined 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.
Nurses around the world collaborate with various providers and partners to address multiple challenges in the community. With emphasize on health promotion and disease prevention, nurses have an important role in delivering nursing services in the community and in the home. Challenges that impact the overall health of the community can arise from unequal access to health care or lack of insurance causing individuals do not receive healthcare. However, all nurses can help improve health outcomes and help to prevent and manage diseases. With the help of community health nurses, public health nurses, and home health nurses, the ability to provide safe and effective care for all sectors of health is possible.
These differences occur as a result of culture, race and geographical location as well as socioeconomic status (Andrews, & Boyle, 2008). Health disparities affect racial and ethnic minorities, low-income groups, women, children, older adults, residents of rural areas, and individuals with disabilities and special care needs (National Institutes of Health, 2010). Health disparities result in inadequate health care for affected populations with significant medical problems. Inadequate health care delivered in an untimely fashion ultimately requires more intervention to resolve worsening problems and also increases health care expenses for individuals, families, and communities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008).
For many years, the nursing shortage has been a relevant topic in today’s society. The nursing shortage is defined as a lack of trained nurses to provide care for ill individuals. Nursing schools inability to grow programs quickly enough to meet demands (Nursing Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014). The shortage is not only an issue in the United States but all over the world. This problem affects a wide range of people from current registered nurses, patients, and other members of the healthcare team. According to the Nursing Association of Colleges of Nursing (Rosseter, 2014), the nursing shortage is due to the expansion of healthcare and nurses who are baby boomers beginning to retire. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment reports,
Infant mortality is considered a worldwide indicator of a nation’s health status. The United States still ranks 24th in infant mortality compared with other industrialized nations, even though infant mortality has declined steadily over the past several decades. Compared with the national average in 1996 of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, the largest disparity is among blacks with a death rate of 14.2 per 1,000 in 1996 which is almost 2½ times that of white infants (6 deaths per 1,000 in 1996). American Indians as a whole have an infant death rate of 9 deaths per 1,000 in 1995, but some Indian communities have an infant mortality rate almost twice that of the national rate. The same applies to the Hispanic community, whose rate of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995 doesn’t reflect the Puerto Rican community, whose rate was 8.9 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995.
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 ...
Over the years, the social determinants of health (SDOH) have been receiving more attention due to its importance in determining peoples’ health access, health quality and health outcome. The social determinants of health have been described by various scholars as the situation or environmental condition in which people are born, or where they grow, live and work; unfortunately these conditions have continued to affect and determine people’s ability to access proper care.1-5 In other words, the SDOH continues to consciously and unconsciously influence people’s access to most opportunities in life including access to healthcare services both in developed and developing countries.2 This issues have continue to deteriorate in most developing countries increasing people’s susceptibility to multi-morbidity among different age groups, with a slight increase among the elderly.6
Nearly every American can agree that our current health care system needs reforms. Primarily do to the fact that 45.7 million Americans are without health insurance. That's approximately 16 percent of Americans who sometimes have to do without healthcare, or face crucial financial responsibility. The main issues are admission to healthcare, and the affordability of health care. Before 1920, doctors didn't know enough about diseases to really provide useful care to sick people. Therefore the...
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.
The World Health Organisation define health inequalities as; ‘differences in health status or in the distribution of health determinants between different population groups. Some health inequalities are attributed to biological variations or free choice and others are attributable to the external environment and conditions mainly outside the control of the individuals concerned’ (Who.int, 2013). Therefore, while some variation in health experience is unavoidable, much of it can be attributed to unequal opportunities, that is, social inequality (Tones and Green, 2004, p. 68).
Step 1: Topic 1; Significant concerns confronting Australian society are the inequities in health between socioeconomic (SES) groups which result in lower SES groups having significantly higher rates of morbidity and mortality at an earlier age. Follow table 1 to apply the SI template to analyse the construction of this problem for a disadvantaged group in Australia and reflect on the social model of health to reduce these inequities.
“Americans are not healthier than some of the other developed nations, regardless of these extensive costs” (WHO, 2007). “Almost 40 million Americans are uninsured and about 18% of Americans under the age of 65 receive half of the recommended healthcare services” (Goldman, and McGlynn, 2005). “Though, quality of care was