Social Determinants Of Health

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).

The minority groups are more likely to say that they are in fair or poor health than white people (Hurst 257). Studies show that white women have a higher life expectancy compared to white men and black women (Hurst 257). Income effects the mortality rates also. People with more income from different sources have lower mortality risks (Hurst 258). This is important to know because these factors all weigh in on the issue of inequality in health care. The people in the lower class and poverty levels are more likely to get sick because they cannot afford health care to keep them from getting sick. Also, their physical health is lower because they are not able to afford time off work to go to doctors or even afford medical

A link between poverty, low educational attainment and poorer health outcomes with increased morbidity and mortality is well established (Causes of Health Disparities, n.d.). Also, certain religious practices may not allow one person to obtain the believed cure or care needed to prevent certain illnesses and diseases. A lack of income and low educational attainment decreases one 's chances of having quality access to healthcare. If one is not able to afford health care or is ignorant to what the health care field has to offer, illness and disease may build up over time, increasing chances for a health disparity. Gender and age could also cause one not to want to obtain health care, furthermore decreasing their health. Men are less likely to visit the doctor as a result of stubbornness, which may be the cause of a disparity. I have also heard as one gets older, some visit the doctor less often and refuse care. This can cause older people to be prone to even more illness and disease than if they were to visit the

Social leased, moderate leased and intermediate housing are given to qualified families whose necessities are not met by the business sector (Communities and Local Government 2012). Qualification is resolved with respect to local incomes and local house prices. Reasonable should include provisions to stay at a moderate cost for future qualified families or for the subsidy to be reused for option reasonable housing provision. As characterized in area 80 of the Housing and Regeneration Act of 2008, social rented housing is owned by local authorities and private enlisted providers for which rule target rents are determined through the national rent regime. It might likewise be owned by different persons and provided under

Homelessness can be understood in the perspective of conflict theory, which holds that capitalism is one the main reason for homelessness.

Before we look at the different Social/Psychological Determinants of Health it is important firstly to define what a social determinant of health is. According to the World Health Organization (2017) “The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.” These conditions are as a result of a wide range of factors that are ultimately governed by the way in which money, power and specific resources are shared at different levels including those at global, national and local levels. We have all been a part of and will experience different social determinants of health throughout our lives but it is the standard at which we experience these determinants that will ultimately lead onto them affecting our health or ultimately leaving us unaffected.

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 is an important element throughout our life. A person’s health can be affected by many social factors such as gender roles and economic positions. As there are differences in health status between different populations groups, health inequality is then formed, for example, differences in morbidity and mortality rates between people from different social classes.

Dr. Dimaano also talked about how social determinants of health are health problems that you had no choice in, they are developed by factors such as sex, age, genes, medical care, and individual behaviors such as work and home life. All of these factors play a part in our health, and

Social determinants of health are the living conditions of people that affect their health. These factors may be environment, education, housing, income and others which affect the basic functions, health and well-being. Among all the economic, social and physical factors that are referred to as SDOH, the factors of housing, income and environment are considered to have major impact in affecting the health of people since they are the fundamental requirements for any human being. Housing and environment affects heart and respiratory functions where income levels are reason for infant and maternal

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. The development of integrated solutions within the context of the health care delivery system needs to focus on patient centered care. In particular, the efforts to prevent and treatment of diabetes. The health care social needs are emerging through Medicare and Medicaid delivery and payment initiatives.

Health inequalities are preventable and unjust differences in health status experienced by certain population groups. People in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to experience chronic ill-health and die earlier than those who are more advantaged. Health inequalities are not only apparent between people of different socio-economic groups – they exist between different genders and different ethnic groups (“Health inequalities,” n.d.).

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.’ (http://www.who.int/social_determinants/sdh_definition/en/)

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,

Sir Michael Marmot put into perspective how serious social disparities are and how they influence health not only between countries but also, within countries. The issue is not medical care; in fact the United States spends the most on medical care. You would initially think the country in which spends the most on medical care must have higher health rates. Well, believe it or not, this is actually false, for instance, sixty-two countries had higher maternal health rates than the United States. This displays that a lack of medical care fundamentally is not the conflict, whereas social inequality is. Even when considering the death of adolescent men, most deaths are due to violence, accident, drug or alcohol use. Health is to a great extent affected depending on where you stand on the social hierarchy. He states that we have the knowledge and means yet poses the question of “Do we have the willpower?”. In essence, we all have to cooperate to eliminate or at least reduce the rates of disparity. The most important approach in accomplishing this is by a means of empowerment, and creation and fair living conditions for society. Social inequality affects children at a young age and has a lasting impact; there was a particular statistic that lower income parents correlate with high rates of socio-emotional difficulties in children, due to low interactions with children. Inequality begins to impost society early on and life and progress throughout an individuals