CUTRESSAM.

WILLIAMS

HS315FinalProject

SocialDeterminantsofHealth

KaplanUniversity

03November2015


Good Health is apersonal responsibility.Mybodybelongstomealonetherefore,Iam
the onlyone whois ultimatelyabletosaywhatpositiveornotsopositivethingshappen
to it.
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 placeto deal withillness
(CDC, 2015).Although many outsideforces may contributeto the state of myhealth,it
ismypersonal responsibilityhow Ichoosetodealwiththoseconditions.Whilechildren,
of course, have little say in what social determinants dictate their young lives,
eventuallytheywill growupandeithermakedifferentchoices(ifnecessary),orcontinue
alongthepathofhealthestablishedforthem.
Social determinants of health touch all three of the core functions of public health.
According to theWorld HealthOrganization,socialdeterminantsarealsoshapedbythe
economics,socialpolicies andpoliticsof the particular area whereOne lives.Inlightof
this truth, the core function of Policy Development is definitely linked with social
determinants. The three public health services that fall under this category consist of:
inform, educate, empower mobilize communitypartnerships and, develop policies. All
three areas are impactful & help shape the elements in One's surroundings that
contribute to how they 'see' their health. Isitsomethingthat isprecious and cared for,
something elusive and seemingly out of reach?What are thefactorsthat contributeto
the negative view? Is it poverty not having the ability toaffordcare?Is it ignorance
not knowing whatto dotobe(remain)healthyorgethealthy?Isitneglect notfocusing
ondailyselfcareintheinterestinfeedingOne'sbelly?

 The corefunctionof Assessment isalso pervasiveamongsocial determinants, as the

health services ofmonitoring healthanddiagnosing &investigatingdiseasearecritical
healthfactors. Theseissuesbecomemoreimportantaswezeroinonspecificlocations
of where groups of peoples live. For example, Health inequities are
avoidable
inequalities in health betweengroups ofpeoplewithincountriesandbetweencountries.
These inequities arise from inequalities within and between societies. Social and
economic conditions and their effects on peoples lives determine their risk of illness
and the actions taken to prevent them becoming ill or treat illness when it occurs
(WHO, 2015). There are some determinants that affect, say someonein Uganda,that
areofnoconcerntosomeoneinIcelandorJapaneven.
While not all ofthepublichealth servicesthatareencompassed under the assurance
core function directly apply, the majority do, even if only in an indirect way. The four
services under this core function include: Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and
quality of personal and populationbased health services Assure a competent public
health and personal healthcare workforce Link people to needed personal health
services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable and,
Enforce laws andregulations thatprotecthealthandensuresafety(Hunting&Gleason,
2011, p. xvi).Whileassuring a competentworkforce doesnot haveadirecteffectupon
social determinants, indirectly, it is critical that people are effectively able to
communicate, especially as related to sickness and healthrelated issues. When One
feels bad, it is a comfort to know that explaining said condition to someone who can

easily understand the nuances and intricacies of language and nonverbal

communication.
Social determinants of health refer to factors and resourcesthat are essential tothe
health of communities and individuals. These include income, shelter, education,
access to nutritious food,services,community normsand cohesion,and social justice.
There are two steps to addressing social determinants. The first is identifying how
various social factors affect the issue of concern and, the secondis thedevelopment
and implementation of an action plan based on an understanding of howtoapproach
the issuein order tosuccessfully make changesin a way that will resolvetheproblem
(SDCHIP, 2015). Utilizing these steps can be significantly effective when paired with
Healthy People 2020s Five Key Areas Approach. The Five Key areas are:Economic
Stability, including poverty, employment outlook, quality food availability & housing
safety and stability Education, including literacy and high school graduation rates
mainly and secondarily, higher educational pursuits Social and Community Context,
including sociability, civic engagement and participation, mental environmental
perceptions and issues of incarceration (if any) Health and Health Care, including
access to and understanding of health, especially prevention and, Neighborhood,
similar to Social, includes concerns about quality foodand housing and environmental
considerations(HealthyPeople2020,2015).
Social determinants are simply another way to distinguish the differences among
people and,nothing distinguishespeoplemore thaneconomics.Economicinstabilityis
regrettably a real fact of life for so many peoples around the world. Having a lack of

money,
can (does not always), but can possibly have a negative effect on a person's
social graces & their general Outlook and therefore, how they thinkaboutthemselves
andtheirhealth as well. If One believes they donothavethemoneytoaffordcarethey
will not seek it,especiallypreventivecare.However,ifpreventivecarewassought,alot
of timesitcouldpreclude a lot of otherissues from developingordoing sofurther. Not
seeking "health care"
beforeitisneededcanbedangerousandalotmoreexpensivein
the long run. But regrettably, the reality is, so many are simply existing day by day,
with notmuchthought about planning, which iswhere prevention shines.Thisiswhere
the amazingprogram like HealthLeads really stepsup tothe plateandcanhelpinthis
arena. Health leads as an organization that works alongside clinicians and other
medical professionalsinhelpingtokeep peoplehealthy,orgetthemhealthyagain.Alot
of timesthere are otherfactorsthatcontributetothehealthandwelfareofanindividual,
including access to quality food, housing, warmth when needed, clothes, etc. Health
leads helps coordinate prescriptions for "life essentials" like writing a prescription for
help withabill to getheating turnedon duringcold monthsor writing a prescriptionfor
food from a food bank or making those who are in need aware of such resources
(HealthLeadsUSA.org,2015).HealthLead'sadvocacyiscriticalpartneringoodhealth.
Education does play a critical role in healthcare. When One is educated and has
knowledge about life, and therefore an interest in living beyondthe mereexistence of
today,theywantto behealthy in order tobestrongandenjoytheirlifetothefullest.If
a person only works a mediocre minimum wage job, that does not provide them
healthcare, doesnot providethem days offwhen they are sick, butonlypaysthemjust

alittlebitofmoneyperhouriftheycometoworkanddoadegradingormenialjob,then
they really have no incentive to reallyseek care, unless itiscriticallynecessary.Thisis
why literacy and education are so foundational to removing the determinants that
separatepeoplesocioeconomicallyandultimatelyhealthwise.
Thesocial context of Ones surroundingsisverycritical,particularlyforpeopleinlower
socioeconomic communities. These residents are a lot more affected by the
circumstances oftheirneighborhoodthansaysomeonelivinginamuchclassierarea.If
there is a lot of gang activityorhigh crime inthe area, orpestsandrodents, things of
thatnature, thenpeoplein thattype of communityaregoing to be moresocially aware
of their lackandtheirneed just the basicnecessities of life. Having grownup inapoor
neighborhood, Idid not reallyknow thatwe werepoor. AsachildI knew thatwewere
not rich,howeverwealwayshadfood,soIthoughtwewereOK.Mygrandmotherwas a
nurse, so healthcare at home was something I always received, evenly preventively,
especially during flu season. I was blessed in that regard, unlike somany others in
similarcircumstancesinwhichIgrewup.
Because I had access to care and someone to care for me and cared about my
preventivehealth,I wasable to be healthy: havehealthy teeth healthy, ahealthybody,
andahealthy mindandknowthatthere ismore to lifethan justscrapingby.Therefore
the desire to seek out my health was/ispriority, becauseI wantto enjoy mylife to the
fullest. The sadreality oftheneighborhoodor county clinicis thatpeople only come in
when it is basically too late. They have no other options. They are so sick, they can
barely move. if they had only come prior but, could not afford to take off work, then

perhaps they would not be in such bad shape. Health literacy is useless without a
positive mental outlook. if a person doesnotseethemselvesasneedingtotakecareof
their health(keeping it strong), as opposedto having to regain itifsomethinghappens,
thenthereislittlebenefitinpreventivehealtheducation.
Similar to the social context, Ones neighborhood and physical environment play a
huge role in their outlook on life, including health. Having access to quality foods is
vitally important to good health. If One is only eating things out of the can with high
sodium, or eatingmisscombined meals, putting proteinsandcarbohydratestogetherin
the same meal continuously, thengood healthwill elude said person(s). And if there is
crime and violence around One every day, what good is seeking preventivecare and
gettingOnesteethcleaned,iftheymaynotmakeithomeinonepiecethenextday?
Everyone involved in health related program development must consider the issues
being addressedin thecontext of thesocialdeterminantsofhealth. Thisincludesthose
affected by the issue as well as those addressing the issue (SDCHIP, 2015). In
summary, there are two critical goals of addressing social determinants. First is
strengthening the ability of the community to sustain the changes that an intervention
brings about. If a population is malnourished, giving them food is only a temporary
solution: helping them to develop selfsufficient and sustainable farming practices, or
training them fornecessaryand available work,on theotherhand,canbeapermanent
fix. The second goal is to take on tasks that can actually be accomplished. Success
breeds success, and an effort is far more likely to be successful when attempting
something thats challenging but doable. A task that has been accomplished forms a

foundation from which to address the next issue, or thenextlevelof issues (SDCHIP,
2015).

References

HealthLeads.Retrievedfrom
www.healthleadsusa.org
Hunting, K., Gleason, B. L. (2011).
Essential Case Studies in Public Health:Putting
PublicHealthintoPractice,1stEdition.
Social Determinants of Health. (2015). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Information

retrieved

from

http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/socialdeterminants/index.html
Key Concepts. (2015). Social Determinants of Health. World Health Organization.
Informationretrievedfrom
http://www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommission/finalreport/key_concepts/
en
Charting the Course VI: Social Determinants of Health. (2015). Community Health
ImprovementPartners(SDCHIP).Informationretrievedfrom
http://www.sdchip.org/media/4099/Social_Determinants_of_Health.pdf