...as education, income, and health, I will use, The Social Determinants of Health Model, to guide my future practice. According to, The WHO, “The social determinants of health are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work and age, and the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics” ("Social determinants of," 2013). In other words, in order to promote, maintain, or return a person to health, it is imperative to understand the circumstances of that person’s social and physical environment currently and historically. In addition, it is important to consider barriers to health imposed by community economics, worldview, and social policies in place. With these concepts in mind, I can individualize a care plan in partnership with the patient. By understanding the prevailing attitudes, social policies, and economics specific to the location of my future practice, I can also address conditions that create health disparities. For example, I might observe that I am seeing a large percentage of patients that smoke, or are obese, or have diabetes. To address these unhealthy habits on an individual basis, I will understand that people cannot be treated without understanding their personal and community environment. My goal in practice will be promoting optimum health in the individual, while understanding that eliminating barriers to health in the community is the key...
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...look at how and why researchers may link medical information with other non-medical information, for example, where people live, their income and their education. An understanding of how these factors affect an individual’s health can help us to look beyond the healthcare system for ways to improve the health of New Zealanders. These factors are called the social determinants of health. This essay will take a closer look at some of these social determinants and how they can influence people’s health and well-being. It will also discuss research articles that provide examples of influences of social determinants of health relating to adults. Paragraph 2: SDH approach. Your discussion...
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...and population. Knowledge is vital to “social and economic development and has a deep impact on people’s health and “the health benefits of education accrue at the individual level” (AHRQ, 2015, para.1). An individual action that occurs throughout their life impact their health and healthcare finances. Factors such as tobacco use, alcohol use, obesity and poor diet habits are just a few. These lifestyle behaviors contribute to the rising healthcare cost for an individual who is insured and for the...
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...Extensive research and analysis in public health discourse have delved into the intricate interplay of various factors that impact an individual’s health. Health outcomes are influenced not only by access to healthcare services but also by a myriad of determinants operating at various levels within society, profoundly shaping outcomes. According to the World Health Organization (2019), health determinants such as social, economic, environmental, and behavioural elements all contribute to an individual’s well-being. Understanding these determinants is essential in formulating effective strategies aimed at promoting health equity and enhancing the overall health of the population. The social determinants of health significantly influence health...
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...well; it involves changes in states of being and in social function” (p. 198). To listen to the story of the personal experience of a person with an illness is a narrative or a story that can be written or spoken about a series of events. A narrative of illness is the story of how one experiences illness and its accompaniments. Hellman (2007) refers to it as a “basic way of organizing an experience, especially a traumatic one; of ‘making sense of it’, and giving it meaning” (p. 140). A narrative is not only an explanation of what the patient is experiencing, but also their interpretation of the illness experience,...
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...“The social determinants of health are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). These factors contribute to the development of illness through their influence on health-promoting behaviors (CDC, 2014). For example, if a person lives in poverty, they will be less likely to maintain health seeking behaviors, putting them at greater risk for illness. The communicable disease chain includes a causative agent, vector or object, mode of transmission, and human (Maurer, & Smith, 2013). The causative agent is the organism that causes the disease, the vector or object is the carrier of the disease, the mode of transmission is how the disease is transferred from person to person, and the human is the host (Maurer, & Smith, 2013). Nurses can break the link within the communicable disease chain by educating their patients and their families. There are precautions that should be maintained for all communicable diseases. Nurses should use standard precautions and have a clear understanding of when to initiate airborne, droplet and contact precautions. The nurse must educate the patient and their families on the spread of their particular disease and the ways to prevent transmission. A good example would be for respiratory infections,...
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...impact of the social determinants of health on accessibility to health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. INTRODUCTION 150 words Nurses have an extensive role in caring for the health and wellbeing of people and ensuring they have accessibility to health care. This paper will explore and provide evidence into how the social determinants of health, especially racism or racial discrimination impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders or Indigenous Australian people’s access to health care. Exploring the impact of social determinants of health on Indigenous Australians and the numerous poorer health outcomes experienced by this population group will...
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...The purpose of this essay is to analyse the article ‘Government will fail to meet five out of six closing the gap targets’ (Brennan 2015) and identifies the different social determinants of health in the article provided. The article examines holistic implications on the Australian Indigenous community in comparison to non-indigenous communities. The world health organisation defines social health of determinants as factors that affect the individual social, economic, mental and political aspects of their lives among many other factors (World Health Organisation 2015). A large percentage of the social determinants listed by the World Health Organisation affect the indigenous community in Australia in many of their current circumstances. This...
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...Introduction What is health? Health means different things to different people. The World Health Organization (2015) defines health as “a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (as in the 1947 WHO definition). Studies show that older adults feel healthy when they are able to accomplish something independently, are able to manage their symptoms, accept and adjust with optimism, connect with others, and have satisfying energy levels (Misoon & Eun-Hi, 2015). Furthermore, Main factors that contribute to the health of Canadians are not medical treatments received or lifestyle choices, but instead the living conditions they experience; these are identified as the Social Determinants...
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...The social determinants of health (SDHs), is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO), as being “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age” that are “shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources” (World Health Organisation, 2014). According to Pega and Veale (2015), SDHs include education, occupation, income, gender, ethnicity/race, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It should be noted that sexual orientation was added as an SDH by the authors due to an article by Logie (2012), who found that people from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, or queer (LGBTQ) sexual orientations faced pronounced negative health biases. The authors argue that gender identity should be added as an SDH, as it was found that prejudice, transphobia, and other violent and biased behaviours aimed at transgender people resulted in differential amounts of societal exclusion for groups of people defined by gender identity, encompassing healthcare scenarios. These socially conditions cripple transgender people via social exclusion, and benefit non-transgendered people through social inclusion. Although gender identity itself does not predict health status, it socially stratifies the population into different exposures to SDHs such as transphobia. Gender identity draws equal comparability to items on the SDHs list like sexual orientation (Logie, 2012) and ethnicity (World Health Organisation, 2008) by discriminating on the basis of racism or homophobia. These...
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...Working Conditions as a Determinant of Health This summary is primarily based on papers and presentations by Andrew Jackson, Senior Economist, Canadian Labour Congress, and Michael Polanyi Assistant Professor, Saskatchewan Population Health Research and Evaluation Unit, and Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina. The presentations were prepared for The Social Determinants of Health Across the Life-Span Conference, held in Toronto in November 2002. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Health Canada. Current Situation Over the 1980s and 1990s, there has been an ongoing restructuring of the labour market and of employment relationships. The intent of these changes has been to promote productivity and competitiveness, as opposed to promoting a worker-centred agenda of “good jobs” (Lowe, 2000). In Canada, only two-thirds of the employed workforce are in “standard” salaried jobs with no defined end date (mostly provided by large firms and the public sector). In this shrinking core job market, workers who have survived layoffs, privatization and contracting-out are generally working longer and harder. Employers have tried to increase profitability and competitiveness and to contain budgets by boosting productivity. This has been accomplished largely by increasing workloads. For example, in the health sector, fewer nurses, social workers and other health professionals must now deal...
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...July 26, 2014 Epidemiology on Mononucleosis Mononucleosis is a viral disease caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), that affects people between the ages of ten and thirty-five, but anyone at any age can contract the disease. This disease is found mainly in adolescents. It is also known as “the kissing disease”, and it is indistinguishable from other members of the herpes virus group (123helpme, 2014). The most frequent mode of transmission is intimate salivary contact. It can also be transmitted from shared drinking and eating utensils, toothbrushes, etc. Mono is not likely to spread by sneezing or from hard surface contact. It is also known as Glandular Fever, because it affects the lymph nodes in the neck, arm pits and groin. It may last anywhere from one to eight weeks, and some people suffer from mononucleosis for months at a time. It is all dependent of one’s immune system. Recuperation is a slow process, which can demand twice as much sleep and resting periods. This disease can drain strength and energy and as well muscle loss. Balance is also affected. Usually exposure to this virus happens at late adolescence for half the population. The peak incidence for girls is 14-16 and boys 16-18. After initial contact with the virus, there is an incubation period of 4-6 weeks and then the symptoms start appearing. Symptoms include fever, sore throat and lymph adenopathy. Fevers may reach as high as 102 degrees Fahrenheit and may remain high for 3-4 weeks. Other symptoms...
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...What are social determinants of health? How do social determinants of health contribute to the development of illness? What is a communicable disease chain? Are there steps that a nurse can take to break a link within the communicable disease chain? Give a specific example. Readings within your text covering international/global health and the following websites will assist you in answering these questions: 1. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global Health website: http://www.cdc.gov/cogh/index.htm 2. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Global Health website: http://www.globalhealth.gov/index.html 3. Families USA - Why Global Health Matters—Here and Abroad website: http://www.familiesusa.org/ 4. World Health Organization (WHO) website: http://www.who.int The social determinants of health are defined as the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness. (WHO, 2008). An individual born into poverty may be exposed to poor sanitation, little or no available medical care, no education, and no pre-natal care. The determinants of early childhood death can be correlated to a lack of pre-natal care. The social determinants related to work are the kind of work, the health or safety risks involved in performing the work, and the wages that allow a person to sustain themselves in housing, healthcare and food are also part of the picture. As...
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...Jose, Great take-away from the article, I agree with you that clinicians such as nurse practitioners can make a difference in improving the healthcare of Americans relative to social determinants. As DNP students we are preparing in the completion of our projects to take on some form of an advocacy role to influence a change in laws, policies or regulations that govern the healthcare system at the local or possibly national level. I think also that the main message that the article The Role of Social Determinants in Health Equity by Jim Anderson (2013) was to help healthcare personnel to realize their importance to improve health outcomes by becoming politically involved in their communities. I like a point you brought up that healthcare personnel...
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...The article’s main claim is that social determinants of health (such as income and gender inequality) should be considered in Canadian health policy because they shape a person`s life and link “government policy, the market and the health and well-being of citizens” (Raphael, 2008, p. 232). As such, Raphael cites three barriers that impede the recognition of social determinants in Canadian policy. They are: 1. The dominant biomedical ideology of positivist science based on the empirical evidence, sees health and illness as individual pathology, taken out of social and environmental determinants shaping health (Raphael, 2008, p. 224). 2. The public ideology of individualism isolates health issues as personal responsibilities as opposed...
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