How Important Are the Social Determinants of Health - Essay Example

HEALTH AND POWER: HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH 2007 Health and Power: How Important are the Social Determinants of Health INTRODUCTION The issue of what the social determinants of health are and how important they are overall is one of great importance and significance, and the most primary matters in particular that is held within this topic is that of life expectancy, and how it is patterned in regards to social class and other social factors. Basically the statistics that are proven within this realm of social determinants of health go to show that poorer people live shorter lives and are often ill more frequently than the rich, and this is quite a disparity, one which has resulted in drawing an incredible amount of attention to that of the remarkable sensitivity of health to the social environment. In order to be able to come to a proper and factual-based conclusion on the importance of the social determinants of health, there are several things which must be done. First, there must be an understanding in regards to what the social determinants of health actually are, and second, there must be a drawing of research on the matter of the importance of these social determinants of health - how they contribute to the medical world, what presence they have, and how they have influenced the world. This study is going to present, discuss, and examine the issue of the importance of the social determinants of health, in order to be able to come to a proper and more knowledgeable understanding on this subject matter in general. This is what will be dissertated in the following. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH The social determinants of health are considered as being the "economic and social conditions under which people live which determine their health; illnesses that are generally related to social, economic, political, and environmental circumstances. Social determinants of health have been recognized by several health organizations such as the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization to greatly influence collective and personal well-being" (Wikipedia 2007). There has been a certain and absolutely noticeable emergence of theoretical models of these social determinants of health, and this emergence has significantly added a sort of conceptual ambiguity to that of the actual understanding of social determinants of health in general, especially when considering the fact that "it is often not possible to clearly distinguish between socioeconomic position and these determinants" (Regidor 2006, p. 60). The originating and now ongoing existence of these social determinants is incredibly valid and significant, as they can be applied to a number of different health topics, resulting in being a sort of helpful solution in regards to a variety of problematic areas. Furthermore, "Whether the existence of social inequalities in health is based on differences in health or on differences in social determinants of health that are systematically associated with socioeconomic position, policymakers should be clearly informed of the importance of socioeconomic position for health" (Regidor 2006, p. 60). Although the actual social determinants for health have been being applied for quite some time now, there are already future ideals that have been proposed in regards to them, including that of three basic requirements in particular: one, to reach a consensus about the dimensions that actually reflect the socioeconomic position; two, to be able to agree about what can be considered as the social determinants of health and whether or not these determinants can be distinguished from that of socioeconomic position; and third, to establish which dimensions and measures of socioeconomic position are going to be most reliable and most appropriate for that of the actual evaluation of interventions, ones which aim to reduce these particular inequalities. It is thought that if requirements such as these were carried out, that the social determinants of health would be even more promising than they already are, as it would result in showing a better reflection of the social determinants of health on the socioeconomic position. The social determinants of health are incredibly important, as it is they which show the facts of how poor people are more likely to get sick and live shorter lives than rich people; although when this statement was first considered it was thought to be rather unbelievable and not provable, since that time the issue of the social determinants of health has become one of great significance and popularity, and has gone to show - both statistically and generally - that there are certain social factors which are known to contribute to life expectancy, particularly that of social class. "We have known for over 150 years that an individual's chances of life and death are patterned according to social class: the more affluent and educated people are, the longer and healthier their lives" (Daniels, Kawachi & Kennedy 1999). This fact is already quite surprising enough, however added onto this as well is the fact of how even when there is universal health care available, these patterns still exist - in other words, there is no difference in regards to the results of the social determinants of health, regardless of whether the people in the particular location have financial access to health care or not. In fact, what is even more is the fact that "recent cross-national evidence suggests that the greater the degree of socioeconomic inequality that exists within a society, the steeper the gradient of health inequality. As a result, middle-income groups in a less equal society will have worse health than comparable or even poorer groups in a society with greater equality. Of course, one cannot infer causation from correlation, but there are plausible hypotheses about pathways that link social inequalities to health" (Daniels, Kawachi & Kennedy 1999). The issue of the power of the biomedical model is also incredibly crucial to this discussion overall, and, although biomedical models can really be of many different types, and that includes animal models of human diseases to animals, in vitro, for instance, basically a biomedical model is "a surrogate for a human being, or a human biologic system, that can be used to understand normal and abnormal function from gene to prototype and to provide a basis for preventive or therapeutic intervention in human diseases. For example, characterization of mouse models of various dwarfing systems cloning of mutated genes, and parallel comparative genetic mapping and cloning of genes for similar human syndromes have led to an understanding of various human dwarfing conditions and have suggested therapies based on biologic knowledge, rather than shotgun testing" (Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, 1998). In other words, rather than just guessing at what the problems are and thus what the solutions should be, the biomedical models that are available are incredibly powerful because they allow an accurate and precise understanding of these issues, as they are based on actually biologic knowledge. The power of the biomedical model is incredibly influential and significant, and one of the most surprising facts of all in this regards is that of how the model actually does not have to be an exact replica of the particular human condition or disease, but rather it is typically able to still work without being so. The issue of socioeconomic factors and health status in regards to the issue of social determinants of health is one of great importance, as many studies have been done which show that there is an incredibly significant relationship between socioeconomic factors and health status; "The Whitehall civil service study compared the health status of individuals over time with their position in a well-defined job hierarchy. Those lower in the hierarchy experienced three times the risk of death from heart disease, stroke, cancer, gastrointestinal disease, accident and suicide compared with those at the top of the hierarchy. These differences could not be explained by differences in medical care" (CNA 2006). The overall importance of these social determinants of health is truly incredible, as they have a remarkably significant impact on that of the predisposition of individuals and groups to illness, and as well to the way in which they "experience and recover from illness. It is critical that nurses understand the impact of these factors on the individuals and groups that they work with, and include these factors in their assessments. This information may affect the choice of intervention and the need for other community resources. At a broader level, nurses can use their experience to advocate for progressive policies that address the social determinants of health" (CNA 2006). Although there are many more issues that need to be examined and discussed in regards to the issue of the social determinants of health, we can still stand by and know that even as of now where they stand they are incredibly important in numerous different ways. CONCLUSION Overall from this review, there are several different conclusions in particular that can be made, namely the fact that the importance of the social determinants of health is truly incredibly significant, and we have also learned about what the social determinants of health actually are, and how they affect the standards and care of health. We have seen that, regardless of whether there is financial access to medical care or not, for example, that statistics still show that the life and death issue comes down incredibly harder on the poor people; regardless of where they are living or how much income they are attaining, persons with a lower socioeconomic status are significantly more likely to get ill or lose their live, when put in comparison to those persons with a higher socioeconomic status. Thus, although there is not many solutions that are considered as being on the table, now that we have at least determined the meaning of social determinants and examined what these determinants are and how they are in relation to the issue of socioeconomic status, we will be able to make much more knowledgeable and informed decisions in this regards in the future. Bibliography Canadian Nurses Association (2005). Social Determinants of Health and Nursing. Retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://72.14.205.104/searchq=cache:oWt3cD0aDOkJ:www.cna-nurses.ca/CNA/documents/pdf/publications/BG8_Social_Determinants_e.pdf+how+important+are+the+social+determinants+of+health&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6 Daniels, N., Kawachi, I., & Kennedy, B. P (1999). 'Why Justice is Good for our Health: The Social Determinants of Health Inequalities'. Daedalus, 128, retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&se=gglsc&d=5001867227 Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (2006). Biomedical Models and Resources: Current Needs and Future Opportunities, online article retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://books.nap.edu/openbook.phpisbn=0309060354 Kawachi, I., & Kennedy, B. P (1997). 'Socioeconomic Determinants of Health: Health and Social Cohesion: Why Care About Income Inequality' BMJ, 314(1057), retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/314/7086/1037 Raphael, D (2004). Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives. Toronto, CA: Canadian Scholars Press. Regidor, E (2006). 'Social Determinants of Health: A Veil That Hides Socioeconomic Position and its Relation With Health'. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60: 896-901, retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/60/10/896hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&FIRSTINDEX=0&maxtoshow=&HITS=10&searchid=1&resourcetype=HWCIT Vancouver Island Health Authority (2006). Understanding the Social Determinants of Health. A Discussion Paper from the Office of the Chief Medical Health Officer Vancouver Island Health Authority. Retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://72.14.205.104/searchq=cache:1RmteAZUrQkJ:www.crd.bc.ca/reports/regionalplanning_/generalreports_/housingaffordability_/buildingthehousingaf_/miscellaneous_/understandingsociald/understanding_social_determinants_of_health_05082006.pdf+how+important+are+the+social+determinants+of+health&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=11 Wikipedia (2007). Social Determinants of Heath, online article retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_determinant_of_health Read More