SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH:
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social determinants of health as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.”
Social determinants of health are an extensive range of factors that exist throughout all aspects of society. However, they are separate from medical care or a person’s individual lifestyle choices.
A study cited by the National Academy of Medicine found that medical care itself only accounted for 10–20% of the contributors to people’s health outcomes.
By contrast, the many social determinants of health play a much bigger role in influencing a person’s health, making up 80–90% of the contributing factors.
Categories
Social determinants of health fall into 5 broad groups: Healthcare, Economic stability, Education, Neighbourhood, Social and community life.
• Healthcare: This group encompasses a person’s access to healthcare and its quality.
Factors include:
access to primary healthcare,
health insurance coverage,
and health literacy.
Around 1 in 10 people in the United States are living without health insurance. This means they may not have a primary healthcare professional. They may also not have the money to make vital purchases for their health, such as medications or tests and the quality of care they deserve.
• Economic stability: This refers to the link between a person’s finances and their health.
Examples of factors are:
Poverty,
Employment,
food security,
And housing stability.
Economic stability is vital to affording lifestyle choices and paying for quality medical care that keeps people healthy.
A well-paying, steady job is critical for food security and housing stability. Savings are essential for managing chronic conditions or emergencies.
• Education: This category focuses on the connection between a person’s access to education and its quality, and their health.
Examples include:
secondary education,
higher education,
language and literacy.
Whether a child or adolescent can access quality education throughout their development can determine their future living conditions.
• Neighborhood: This group considers a person’s housing and environment and the role they play in the person’s health. Factors include:
quality of housing,
transportation,
access to healthy foods,
water quality,
crime and violence.
A person’s neighborhood and living conditions can directly impact their health and safety.
Many individuals worldwide live in areas with:
elevated rates of violent crime,
high levels of environmental pollutants,
unsafe air and drinking water.
Marginalized racial and ethnic groups, as well as people from low income households, are more likely to live in places that carry these health risks.
• Social and community life: This group revolves around the ways a person lives, works, plays, and learns and how these relate to the person’s health.
Factors include:
civic participation,
discrimination,
incarceration,
conditions within a workplace.
Interactions between individuals and their family members and co-workers can affect their health.
For example, workplace conditions and discrimination can have an impact on peoples’ moods and self-esteem.
Therefore, Fostering positive relationships at home, at work, or in a person’s community can improve public well-being.
The factors in each group are interwoven and often related to each other.
Summary
The conditions into which people are born and in which they live their lives have a profound effect on their health.
These factors influence the opportunities a person has to eat a nutritious diet, have a good education, live and work in a toxin-free environment, access healthcare, and more.
Where a person is born, lives, goes to school, and works is what public health experts refer to as social determinants of health.
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