Socioeconomic Status, Health, Race, Ethnicity, And 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 heart is the hardest working muscle in the body, pumping approximately two ounces every day for a lifetime. To keep this small but efficient muscle working, one must understand the importance of heart health. Unfortunately this lack of understanding causes millions of Americans to suffer from heart disease. 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. Socioeconomic status is comprised of income, housing, education, employment, and social position. Living in urban communities also adds stressors which gravely impacts the heart; leading to heart failure. This type of stress can be

Social model often ensures physical and mental health and broader sphere of participating in active life. The model permits most understated discrimination of people that succeed to lead productive lives irrespective of physical damage. The disadvantage of social model is the approach that runs the threat of excessive breadth and to incorporate all life. Therefore, they do not differentiate among the state to become healthy the concerns of being healthy neither do they differentiate among “health” and “health determinants”.

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.

Primary care is said to be the “first point of contact” for people when accessing the health care system in Ireland (Department of health and children 2001). The World health organisation(1978) outline that one of the main roles of primary health care is to provide access to care for the most vulnerable but also to identify and rectify the factors which lead to their early mortality. The Alma Ata declaration (1978) was a huge milestone in the development of primary care and they explain how essential it is for all populations’ health. Unfortunately the vulnerable populations in Ireland suffer the effects of the social determinates and also the health inequalities and die younger because they put up with a healthcare system which “places lesser value on the lives of those with lesser means” (Wren 2002). This is why primary health care is of uttermost importance, the nurse in the community must try to help prevent, educate and overcome these inequalities and provide the highest standards of health for all, which is not based on want but need.

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

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). These disparities that exist in all the factors have to be eliminated with suitable control measures. Regulations on health care services and their access has to be made more

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.).

Even with our medical advances, the United States ranks 29th because of lack of health care for some individuals but also the lifestyle Americans have. Another reason is that class statuses correspond with our health outcomes. What I meant about this, is that lower and middle class individuals are exposed to more health threats than higher class. This is the connections between healthy bodies and healthy bank accounts and race/ethnicity. Higher class individuals live in better neighborhoods which have a higher life expectancy.

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/)

Health inequalities are a result of unequal exposure to risk factors associated with socio-economic inequalities, such as social, economic and environmental conditions (Thomson, Bambra, McNamara, Huijts, & Todd, 2016).

This journal article illustrates that many countries have enormous disparities in health. To accomplish advancements in health systems, it is essential to strive to eradicate major fatal diseases and to manage poverty. Life expectancies are considered on a global level concerning age, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, region as well as the level of education, resulting in alarming statistical data. The objective for enhanced health systems incorporates decreasing the rates of morality. The social gradient greatly contributes to social inequalities around the world. Social conditions, for example, the environment in

The Health Field Model (HFM) is the conceptual framework that is used by different health care organizations or in individual research projects to evaluate the prevalence, awareness and management of diseases in the community (Pittman, 2010). The HFM, a determinant health model is developed by Bob Evans and Greg Stoddart in 1990. The HFM provides a broad spectrum for understanding health, and the factors that interfere with, and influence the health of individuals in the community. There are features to put into consideration for, in determining the factors that affect many diseases; hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, or influence of health on a community (Kindig & McGinnis, 2007).