POPULATION AGEING AND SOCIAL HEALTH
2.1 Demographic shift – transition towards a much older population
CVD occurs more frequently in the aging population which is most advanced in the most highly developed countries. [3] Population ageing arises from 3 major demographic effects: increase in average life expectancy, declining fertility and migration. [9] The substantial increase in average life expectancy is a phenomenon that occurs due to the reduction of infant mortality, control of infectious diseases and the enhancement of sanitation, living standards and nutrition. In 2050, the number of the elderly is projected to be five times higher than today and will represent 4% of the total population. [9] Elderly people aged 80 and over is the
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[3] Among other social factors, such as money distribution, level of education and resources, probably the most influential one is the health care system. [3] This system needs to provide solutions for the increase in CVD and for the complex phenomenon behind it, i.e. the interaction between socioeconomic features and pathophysiological features of CVD. Literature data implies that the socially underprivileged groups are exposed to more cardiovascular risk factors. …show more content…
There is substantial evidence for an inverse relation between socioeconomic status and almost all the cardiovascular disease risk factors, with the possible exception of cholesterol level. Furthermore, there is strong evidence suggesting that people with low socio-economic status are more prone to smoke and to have unhealthy dietary habits.[11] Also, it is shown that poverty in early life has a substantial effect on the development of arteriosclerosis. [11]
Regardless the approach used for defining social status or how society is organized, education has proven to be a useful tool for the measurement of the socio-economic status. Alongside other measurement instruments of social class such as income, occupation and living conditions, education has been the first choice for epidemiologists. [11] It seems that poor-living conditions, low level of education, social instability, unemployment or low income and low access to health care are strongly linked to coronary heart disease, stroke and myocardial infarction. [10]
One last component includes socioeconomic status of Black individuals. Those with lower income and educational levels have poorer lifestyle choices than those of higher levels (Walker, 2012). A huge problem that contributes to negative overall health in Black Americans is a lack of adequate insurance. Those of lower economic status are less likely to have insurance, and therefore less likely to receive treatment for medical problems. Even when an individual has insurance, many private insurance plans have very high out-of-pocket expenses that may deter individuals from seeing a doctor or from following up a new prescription medication (Walker, 2012).
The number one killer in the United States today is heart disease or also known as cardiovascular disease (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2015). As death rates begin to rise due to cardiovascular disease, in 1948 the Framingham Heart Study became a joint project of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University to pinpoint the most common factors that play a role in cardiovascular disease and strokes (Framingham Heart Study, 2015). Over several years, the Framingham study has identified several risks factors that are believed to increase the likelihood of a person being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. These risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and physical
Epidemiologists have known that poverty is interrelated with higher morbidity and mortality rates. Recent research has suggested a positive
Social Determinants of Health Shelly Clavis Rutgers University School of Nursing Social Determinants of Health Defined Health concerns is an issue that most organizations have formed a pact to safely deal with the challenge. The main agenda focuses on the eradication of health inequalities that may exist in most countries. It is best suited that social determinants are accorded the much-needed attention since they affect a number of people. In assessing the factors that affect one’s health, genetic disposition, personal behaviors, ability to obtain healthcare and the overall environment in which an individual resides are to be considered. Social determinants of Health are issues that deals with the conditions that people have found constructed in a society and acts as a parcel in their lives, such as; growth, age and some of the more complex systems that construct a society which include economic policies and their systems that include social norms, development goals and the basic political system that they are indulged under (World Health Organization, 2008).
Living in underprivileged neighborhoods creates a lot of stress on community members that predispose them to contracting diseases. Epidemiologist, Ana Diez-Roux, states that people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods have a 50% to 80% increased risk of developing heart disease. An improvement of health policies is required to for disadvantaged neighborhoods to
The term social determinants of health, can be defined as a ‘set of conditions in which people are born, grow up, live and work.’ These conditions include housing, education, financial security and the environment along with the healthcare service. (http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/438838/01.12_Health_inequalities_and_the_social_determinants_of_health.pdf) These factors are affected by the amount of money, power and resources that are available at a global, national and local level. Social determinants of health are linked to health inequalities according to the World Health Organisation, health inequalities are ‘the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.’
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most ethnicities in the United States, including African Americans, Hispanics, and whites.(2)” Among these ethnicities, African Americans have the highest death rate. Why is it that African Americans are at the top of this list? Perhaps it is because of the social inequality experienced on the socioeconomic scale. Socioeconomic status can heavily influence the optimal health of the heart in an individual; resulting in cardiac injury.
These Social Determinants of Health may all relate to each other in some ways but may also have no relation to each other at all. However, examining them will let us determine whether this is true or not and will enable us to conclude whether specific determinants of health have an effect on others. Analyzing these determinants of health will also provide us with information that may or may not link them to specific health conditions and diseases which is an interesting area as we move forward in the industry of health and wellbeing.
Annotated Bibliography Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet, 365, 1099 1104. This journal article illustrates that many countries have enormous disparities in health.
Social determinants of health depend on social, environmental and economic conditions in societies (EuroHealthNet, n.d.). These factors and conditions, together with the age, sex and hereditary factors of a person, are interlinked and influence the health status of the individual, because a person is born, grows, lives, works and ages in these conditions (Equity Action, 2010). The living and working conditions include agriculture and food production, education, work and environment, unemployment, water and sanitation, health care services and housing (Marmot, Health inequalities in the EU, 2013, p. 40). In addition, it is clear that equal access to good health is hard to achieve, and it can be done so, if disadvantages are assessed, and that necessary measures should be taken (Stegeman, Costongs, & Needle,
Socioeconomic status is frequently considered to be a potential confounder or a risk factor for overweight and obesity in health studies. Although there is general agreement that SES is a multidimensional construct, scholars tend to include only one socioeconomic status component in their predictive models and few researches have provided an explicit theoretical and methodological rationale for the choice of indicators (Ball et al., 2002). Socioeconomic status is a measure of an individual’s position within society that is determined by the access to collectively desired resources (Oakes and Rossi, 2003). The SES concept has emerged from the class approach to social structure analysis, primarily developed by Karl Marx and Max Weber, and, consequently, is widely used as a synonym to “social position”, “socioeconomic position” or “social class” (Liberato et al., 1988). From Marx’s perspective, social class is identified as a group of people sharing common relations to the means of production that support their wellbeing (Marx, 1981).
These factors are known as the Social Determinants of health. “The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system” (WHO). Dalgren & Whitehead (1991) image of the social determinants of health aims to show the relationship between the person, their environment and their health. The modifiable factors, people’s age, gender and race lie in the centre surrounded by non modifiable factors like profession, housing, education and public policy. There is a direct relationship between people’s environment and their health, e.g. people who live in damp housing have a higher incidence of respiratory health problems (Farell et al.
Health outcomes among people depend upon the resources that people have to live a quality life. The variations with the money distribution and power derive such circumstances and induce inequalities in health at domestic and global levels where they have become unavoidable at present (Vega & Frenz, 2013). It has been stated that income, housing as well as environment are the major categories undermining all the factors of social determinants as mentioned earlier. Individuals, groups and communities are negatively influenced by these factors in their health status. Governments of all nations have undertaken several measures to tackle the risks arising from these conditions (Chapman, 2010).
Introduction I. We as a human being, we age and it is said that there will be more elderly people in the future. A. According to the graph of 2012 Population Estimates and National Projections from the Current Population Report by Jennifer M. Ortman, the population aged 65 and above is projected to be 83.7 million in 2050, almost double its estimated population of
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Healthy People (2015), these factors underlie preventable disparities in health status and disease outcomes. Poor health outcomes are often the result of the interaction between individuals and their social and physical environment. Policies that result in changes to the social and physical environment can affect entire populations over extended periods of time, while simultaneously helping people to change individual-level behavior. Improving the conditions in which people are born, live, work, and age will ensure a healthier population, thereby improving national productivity, security, and prosperity through a healthier nation. The importance of social determinants of health is growing initiatives to address these determinants of health.