Social Determinants of Health Essay Example for Free

brotherly Determinants of Health EssayHealth view improves at each step up the income and loving hierarchy. High income determines living conditions much(prenominal) as safe housing and ability to buy sufficient good food. The wellnessiest populations be those in societies which are prosperous and have an equitable distribution of wealth.why are mettlesomeer income and mixer status associated with better wellness? If it were righteous a matter of the poorest and concluding status groups having poor wellness, the explanation could be things the like poor living conditions. But the incumbrance occurs all across the socio-economic spectrum. Considerable research indicates that the degree of authorization hoi polloi have over vivification circumstances, in particular stressful situations, and their discretion to act are the key influences. Higher income and status ecumenically results in more than control and discretion.And the biological pathways for how this could happen are suitable better understood. A spot of recent studies show that limited options and poor coping skills for palming with stress increase vulnerability to a range of ailments with pathways that involve the immune and hormonal organizations. There is strong and exploitation present that higher social and economic status is associated with better health. In fact, these two factors expect to be the most important determinants of health. secernate from the Second Report on the Health of CanadiansOnly 47% of Canadians in the lowest income bracket evaluate their health as real good or excellent, compared with 73% of Canadians in the highest income group. Low-income Canadians are more liable(predicate) to die earlier and to suffer more illnesses than Canadians with higher incomes, regardless of age, sex, race and place of residence. At each rung up the income ladder, Canadians have less sickness, longer life expectancies and improved health. Studies suggest that the distribution of income in a given society whitethorn be a more important determinant of health than the total amount of income earned by society members. braggy gaps in income distribution lead to increases in social problems and poorer health among the population as a whole.Evidence from Investing in the Health of CanadiansSocial status is also linked to health. A major British study of civil service employees found that, for most major categories of disease ( elicitcer, coronary heart disease, stroke, etc.), health increased with job rank. This was true even when risk factors such(prenominal) as smoking, which are known to vary with social class, were taken into account. All the stack in the study turn tailed in desk jobs, and all had a good standard of living and job security, so this was non an effect that could be explained by corporal risk, leanness or material deprivation. Health increased at each step up the job hierarchy.For example, those one step down from the top ( doctors, lawyers, etc.) had heart disease rates intravenous feeding times higher than those at the top (those at levels comparable to deputy ministers). So we must conclude that something related to higher income, social position and hierarchy provides a buffer or defence against disease, or that something about lower income and status undermines defences. touch also evidence from the traverse Social Disparities and Involvement in Physical Activity See also evidence from the report Improving the Health of Canadians KEY DETERMINANT 2. Social Support Networks rudimentary PREMISES secernSupport from families, friends and communities is associated with better health. Such social strengthener networks could be very important in helping people solve problems and deal with adversity, as well as in maintaining a understanding of mastery and control over life circumstances. The caring and respect that occurs in social relationships, and the resulting sense of satisfaction and well-bein g, seem to act as a buffer against health problems.In the 199697 depicted object Population Health Survey (NPHS), more than four out of five Canadians reported that they had someone to confide in, someone they could count on in a crisis, someone they could count on for advice and someone who makes them flavor loved and cared for. Similarly, in the 199495 National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, children aged 10 and 11 reported a strong tendency toward positive social behaviour and caring forothers.Evidence from Investing in the Health of CanadiansSome experts in the field have concluded that the health effect of social relationships may be as important as established risk factors such as smoking, physical activity, obesity and high blood pressure. An extensive study in California found that, for men and women, the more social contacts people have, the lower their premature death rates. Another U.S. study found that low availability of stirred support and low social par ticipation were associated with all-ca utilise mortality. The risk of angina pectoris decreased with increasing levels of emotional support in a study of male Israeli civil servants.Top of PageKEY DETERMINANT 3. Education and LiteracyUNDERLYING PREMISESEVIDENCEHealth status improves with level of education.Education is closely fasten to socioeconomic status, and effective education for children and lifelong education for adults are key contributors to health and prosperity for individuals, and for the country. Education contributes to health and prosperity by equipping people with knowledge and skills for problem solving, and helps provide a sense of control and mastery over life circumstances. It increases opportunities for job and income security, and job satisfaction. And it improves peoples ability to access and understand schooling to help keep them healthy. Evidence from the Second Report on the Health of CanadiansCanadians with low literacy skills are more likely to be un employed and poor, to suffer poorer health and to die earlier than Canadians with high levels of literacy People with higher levels of education have better access to healthy physical environments and are better able to mend their children for school than people with low levels of education. They also tend to smoke less, to be more physically active and to have access to healthier foods. In the 1996-97 National Population Health Survey (NPHS), only 19% of respondents with less than a high school education rated their health as excellent compared with 30% of universitygraduates. Evidence from Investing in the Health of CanadiansThe 1990 Canada Health Promotion Survey found the number of lost workdays decreases with increasing education. People with elementary schooling lose sevener work days per year due to illness, injury or disability, while those with university education lose fewer than four days per year. See also evidence from the report How Does Literacy Affect the Health of Canadians?KEY DETERMINANT 4. Employment / Working ConditionsUNDERLYING PREMISESEVIDENCEUnemployment, underemployment, stressful or unsafe work are associated with poorer health. People who have more control over their work circumstances and fewer stress related demands of the job are healthier and often make up longer than those in more stressful or riskier work and activities. Evidence from the Second Report on the Health of Canadians Employment has a significant effect on a persons physical, mental and social health. Paid work provides not only money, but also a sense of identity and purpose, social contacts and opportunities for person-to-person growth. When a person loses these benefits, the results can be devastating to both the health of the individual and his or her family. Unemployed people have a reduced life expectancy and suffer significantly more health problems than people who have a job. Conditions at work (both physical and psychosocial) can have a grievous effec t on peoples health and emotional well-being.Participation in the wage economy, however, is only part of the picture. Many Canadians ( specially women) spend almost as many hours prosecute in unpaid work, such as doing housework and caring for children or older relatives. When these two workloads are combined on an ongoing basis and olive-sized or no support is offered, an individuals level of stress and job satisfaction is bound to suffer. Between 1991 and 1995, the proportion of Canadian workers who were very satisfied with their work declined, and was more pronounced among female workers, dropping from 58% to 49%.Reported levels of work stress followed the same pattern. In the 199697 NPHS, more women reported high work stress levels than men in every age category. Women aged 20 to 24 were almost three times as likely to report high work stressthan the average Canadian worker. Evidence from Investing in the Health of CanadiansA major review done for the World Health constitutio n found that high levels of unemployment and economic instability in a society cause significant mental health problems and adverse effects on the physical health of unemployed individuals, their families and their communities.Top of PageKEY DETERMINANT 5. Social EnvironmentsUNDERLYING PREMISESEVIDENCEThe importance of social support also extends to the broader community. civic vitality refers to the strength of social networks within a community, region, province or country. It is reflected in the institutions, organizations and informal giving practices that people create to share resources and build attachments with others.The line up of values and norms of a society influence in varying ways the health and well being of individuals and populations. In addition, social stability, recognition of diversity, safety, good works relationships, and cohesive communities provide a supportive society that reduces or avoids many potential risks to good health.A healthy lifestyle can be fantasy of as a broad description of peoples behaviour in three inter-related dimensions individuals individuals within their social environments (eg. family, peers, community, workplace) the relation between individuals and their social enivronment. Interventions to improve health through lifestyle choices can use comprehensive approaches that address health as a social or community (ie. shared) issue.Social or community responses can add resources to an individuals repertoireof strategies to cope with changes and foster health.In 1996-97 Thirty-one percent of adult Canadians reported volunteering with not-for-profit organizations in 1996-97, a 40% increase in the number of volunteers since 1987. single in two Canadians reported being involved in a community organization. Eighty-eight percent of Canadians made donations, either financial or in-kind, to tender-hearted and not-for-profit organizations. Evidence from the Second Report on the Health of CanadiansIn the U.S., high lev els of trust and group membership were found to be associated with reduced mortality rates. Family fierceness has a devastating effect on the health of women and children in both the short and long term. In 1996, family members were accused in 24% of all assaults against children among very young children, the proportion was much higher.Women who are assaulted often suffer severe physical and psychological health problems some are even killed. In 1997, 80% of victims of spousal homicide were women, and another 19 women were killed by a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. Since peaking in 1991, the national crime rate declined 19% by 1997. However, this national rate is still more than double what it was three decades ago.KEY DETERMINANT 6. Physical EnvironmentsUNDERLYING PREMISESEVIDENCEThe physical environment is an important determinant of health. At certain levels of exposure, contaminants in our air, water, food and soil can cause a variety of adverse health effects, including cancer, birth defects, respiratory illness and gastrointestinal ailments.In the built environment, factors related to housing, indoor air quality, and the design of communities and transportation systems can significantly influence our physical and psychological well-being. Evidence from the Second Report on the Health of CanadiansThe prevalence of childhood asthma, a respiratory disease that is highlysensitive to airborne contaminants, has increased sharply over the last two decades, especially among the age group 0 to 5. It was estimated that some 13% of boys and 11% of girls aged 0 to 19 (more than 890,000 children and young people) suffered from asthma in 199697. Children and outdoor workers may be especially vulnerable to the health effects of a reduced ozone layer. Excessive exposure to UV-B radiation can cause sunburn, skin cancer, depression of the immune system and an increased risk of developing cataracts Evidence from Investing in the Health of CanadiansAir pollution, including e xposure to second hand tobacco smoke, has a significant draw with health. A study in southern Ontario found a consistent link between hospital admissions for respiratory illness in the summer months and levels of sulphates and ozone in the air. However, it now seems that the risk from small particles such as dust and carbon particles that are by-products of burning fuel may be even greater than the risks from pollutants such as ozone. As well, research indicates that lung cancer risks from second hand tobacco smoke are greater than the risks from the savage air pollutants from all regulated industrial emissions combined.KEY DETERMINANT 7. Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills UNDERLYING PREMISESEVIDENCEPersonal Health Practices and Coping Skills refer to those actions by which individuals can veto diseases and promote self-care, cope with challenges, and develop self-reliance, solve problems and make choices that enhance health.Definitions of lifestyle include not only ind ividual choices, but also the influence of social, economic,and environmental factors on the decisions people make about their health. There is a growing recognition that personal life choices are greatly influenced by the socioeconomic environments in which people live, learn, work and play.These influences impact lifestyle choice through at least five areas personal life skills, stress, culture, social relationships and belonging,and a sense of control. Interventions that support the creation of suportive environments will enhance the capacity of individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices in a world where many choices are possible.Through research in areas such as heart disease and disadvantaged childhood, there is more evidence that powerful biochemical and physiologic pathways link the individual socio-economic experience to vascular conditions and other adverse health events.However, there is a growing recognition that personal life choices are greatly influenced by the soci oeconomic environments in which people live, learn, work and play. Through research in areas such as heart disease and disadvantaged childhood, there is more evidence that powerful biochemical and physiological pathways link the individual socio-economic experience to vascular conditions and other adverse health events. Evidence from the Second Report on the Health of CanadiansIn Canada, smoking is estimated to be responsible for at least one-quarter of all deaths for adults between the ages of 35 and 84. Rates of smoking have increased substantially among adolescents and youth, particularly among young women, over the quondam(prenominal) five years and smoking rates among Aboriginal people are double the overall rate for Canada as a whole. Multiple risk-taking behaviours, including such hazardous combinations as alcohol, drug use and driving, and alcohol, drug use and unsafe sex, remain particularly high among young people, especially young men.Diet in general and the consumption of fat in particular are linked to some of the major causes of death, including cancer and coronary heart disease. The proportion of overweight men and women in Canada increased steadily between 1985 and 199697 from 22% to 34% among men and from 14% to 23% among women. Evidence from Investing in the Health of CanadiansCoping skills, which seem to be acquired primarily in the first few years of life, are also important in supporting healthy lifestyles. These are the skills people use to interact effectively with the world around them, to deal with the events, challenges and stress they encounter in their day today lives. Effective coping skills enable people to be self-reliant, solve problems and make informed choices that enhance health. These skills help people face lifes challenges in positive ways, without recourse to risky behaviours such as alcohol or drug abuse. Research tells us that people with a strong sense of their own effectiveness and ability to cope with circumstances in their lives are likely to be most successful in adopting and sustaining healthy behaviours and lifestyles. See also evidence from the report Social Disparities and Involvement in Physical Activity See also evidence from the report Improving the Health of CanadiansTop of PageKEY DETERMINANT 8. Healthy Child DevelopmentUNDERLYING PREMISESEVIDENCENew evidence on the effects of early experiences on brain development, school readiness and health in later life has sparked a growing consensus about early child development as a powerful determinant of health in its own right. At the same time, we have been learning more about how all of the other determinants of health affect the physical, social, mental, emotional and spiritual development of children and youth. For example, a young persons development is greatly affected by his or her housing and neighbourhood, family income and level of parents education, access to nutritious foods and physical recreation, genetic makeup and access to dental and medical care.Evidence from the Second Report on the Health of CanadiansExperiences from conception to age six have the most important influence of any time in the life cycle on the connecting and sculpting of the brains neurons. prescribed stimulation early in life improves learning, behaviour and health into adulthood. Tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to poor birth outcomes. In the 199697 National Population Health Survey, about 36% of new mothers who were former or current smokers smoked during their last pregnancy (about 146,000 women). The vast bulk of women reported that they did not drink alcohol during their pregnancy. A loving, secure attachment between parents/caregivers and babies in the first18 months of life helps children to develop trust, self-esteem, emotional control and the ability to have positive relationships with others in later life. Infants and children who are neglected or abused are at higher risk for injuries, a number of beh avioural, social and cognitive problems later in life, and death.Evidence from Investing in the Health of CanadiansA low weight at birth links with problems not just during childhood, but also in adulthood. Research shows a strong relationship between income level of the mother and the babys birth weight. The effect occurs not just for the most economically disadvantaged group. Mothers at each step up the income scale have babies with higher birth weights, on average, than those on the step below. This tells us the problems are not just a result of poor maternal nutrition and poor health practices associated with poverty, although the most serious problems occur in the lowest income group. It seems that factors such as coping skills and sense of control and mastery over life circumstances also come into play. See also evidence from the report Improving the Health of Canadians KEY DETERMINANT 9.