Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

Health starts in our homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities. We know that taking care of ourselves by eating well and staying active, not smoking, getting the recommended immunizations and screening tests, and seeing a doctor when we are sick all influence our health. Our health is also determined in part by access to social and economic opportunities; the resources and supports available in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities; the quality of our schooling; the safety of our workplaces; the cleanliness of our water, food, and air; and the nature of our social interactions and relationships. The conditions in which we live explain in part why some Americans are healthier than others and why Americans more generally are not as healthy as they could be. Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

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Healthy People 2020 highlights the importance of addressing the social determinants of health by including “Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all” as one of the four overarching goals for the decade. This emphasis is shared by the World Health Organization, whose Commission on Social Determinants of Health in 2008 published the report, Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. The emphasis is also shared by other U.S. health initiatives such as the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities  and the National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy.Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

The Social Determinants of Health topic area within Healthy People 2020 is designed to identify ways to create social and physical environments that promote good health for all. All Americans deserve an equal opportunity to make the choices that lead to good health. But to ensure that all Americans have that opportunity, advances are needed not only in health care but also in fields such as education, childcare, housing, business, law, media, community planning, transportation, and agriculture. Making these advances involves working together to:Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

• Explore how programs, practices, and policies in these areas affect the health of individuals, families, and communities.
• Establish common goals, complementary roles, and ongoing constructive relationships between the health sector and these areas.
• Maximize opportunities for collaboration among Federal-, state-, and local-level partners related to social determinants of health.

Understanding Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants of health are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Conditions (e.g., social, economic, and physical) in these various environments and settings (e.g., school, church, workplace, and neighborhood) have been referred to as “place.” In addition to the more material attributes of “place,” the patterns of social engagement and sense of security and well-being are also affected by where people live. Resources that enhance quality of life can have a significant influence on population health outcomes. Examples of these resources include safe and affordable housing, access to education, public safety, availability of healthy foods, local emergency/health services, and environments free of life-threatening toxins.Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

Understanding the relationship between how population groups experience “place” and the impact of “place” on health is fundamental to the social determinants of health—including both social and physical determinants.

Examples of social determinants include:

• Availability of resources to meet daily needs (e.g., safe housing and local food markets)
• Access to educational, economic, and job opportunities
• Access to health care services
• Quality of education and job training
• Availability of community-based resources in support of community living and opportunities for recreational and leisure-time activities
• Transportation options
• Public safety
• Social support
• Social norms and attitudes (e.g., discrimination, racism, and distrust of government)
• Exposure to crime, violence, and social disorder (e.g., presence of trash and lack of cooperation in a community)
• Socioeconomic conditions (e.g., concentrated poverty and the stressful conditions that accompany it)
• Residential segregation
• Language/Literacy
• Access to mass media and emerging technologies (e.g., cell phones, the Internet, and social media)
• Culture

Examples of physical determinants include:

• Natural environment, such as green space (e.g., trees and grass) or weather (e.g., climate change)
• Built environment, such as buildings, sidewalks, bike lanes, and roads
• Worksites, schools, and recreational settings
• Housing and community design
• Exposure to toxic substances and other physical hazards
• Physical barriers, especially for people with disabilities
• Aesthetic elements (e.g., good lighting, trees, and benches)Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

By working to establish policies that positively influence social and economic conditions and those that support changes in individual behavior, we can improve health for large numbers of people in ways that can be sustained over time. Improving the conditions in which we live, learn, work, and play and the quality of our relationships will create a healthier population, society, and workforce.

Mylinda’s post

Mylinda’s choice of area of interest complies with the assignment. She examines Covid 19 which has become a global disaster in the current society. She identifies specific issues affecting the patients in her care organization such as lack of oxygen and medical insurance covers which forces the patient’s duration of hospitalization to increase or worse still they die. The author also identifies the social determinants affecting her patient such as economics and finances. Most patients are not able to pay for the services required to manage the corona virus such as payment for oxygen, ventilation and medications. This is due to the high costs and also poverty. As noted by the Health People 2020, lack of economic resources undermines prevention of diseases as well as treatment since patients cannot access services and medications (Marriott, 2020).Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

The author also identifies language and literacy as the other social determinant affecting Covid-19 patients. She explains that the patient is Hispanic and does not speak English which is the universal language in the healthcare facility. This hinders her access to care since translators are required and most cases unavailable. Mylinda has thus explored the social determinants exhaustively. She also provides the impacts and possible solutions to resolve the social determinants. However, the author does not explain how screening is conducted in the facility to identify social determinants of health. The missed opportunities are also not articulated in the post.Social determinants in healthcare Essay.

Vivian’s post

Vivian provides a good introduction of the patent’s case she is handling. From the initial stage of writing, it is evident that the patient experiences language barrier as the first social determinant of health. The patient and the wife do not speak English which is bound to make it difficult for him to access medical services as the communication between the providers will be curtailed (Andermann, 2016). This also translates to lack of health literacy which could lead to distortion of information as the wife translates in Mandarin language. The author also provides specific examples to back up her arguments from the case such as when the patient and the wife do not understand Osteoarthritis and treatments as well.

Concerning her second case, Vivian presents economy and finances as the social determinant affecting the patient. This is explained clearly with specific evidence of her working late and overtime to fend for her family leaving her son to consume unhealthy diet which has resulted to obesity. She also identifies language barrier once more and how it has crippled the efforts of the patient’s mother to seek medical help for her obese child. The solutions to these determinants is also expressed correctly. However, despite mentioning screening, Vivian does not specify the type of screening that should be conducted on her clients to determine the missed opportunities and identify the determinants. I wish the author added that important section in her work.Social determinants in healthcare Essay.