Determinants of Health - Essay Example

"Determinants of Health" is a good example of a paper on wellness and lifestyle, The health of people and society is affected by several combining factors. The environment and conditions determine whether people are healthy or not. To a great degree, factors like genetics, relationships with other people, levels of education and income, and environment have a significant influence on health. Factors such as accessing and using health care services have a smaller amount of impact. This paper will look at the health determinants, the most salient ones and why they are considered to be more influential than others.

The situation of people’s lives influences their wellbeing and so individuals cannot be acknowledged for being healthy nor can they be held responsible for having poor health. Many of the health determinants cannot be directly restrained by the individuals. The associations between the determinants of health shape the health of an individual and that of the general population (Amick, 1995). The health determinants go past the habitual healthcare to other sectors like housing, environment, agriculture, and education which can be vital in enhancing healthcare.

Among the determinants of health include behavior and genetics. The most critical ones include income and social standing, physical environment, gender, policies, education, and health services. The social and economic situations are considered to be more serious because they are encountered by an individual in his or her living and working conditions while the individual ones induce the person’s susceptibility to disease or harm.

Behavior

The behavior of an individual plays a part in health results. For example, when a person stops smoking, the risk of him or her developing diseases associated with the heart is adversely lessened. Most healthcare treatments concentrate on changing the behavior of a person, for instance, physical activity, drug abuse, washing of hands and diet.

Genetics

Inheritance can determine an individual’s healthiness and the possibility of contracting particular diseases. Certain genetic and biological aspects affect particular people more than others. For example, because of the effects that result from growing old, older adults suffer ill health than adolescents. Sickle cell disease is also found in particular people who inherit it from their parents.

Income and Social Standing

Those of higher social status are entitled to higher incomes hence have access to better healthcare than those of low status with low incomes (Cockerham, 2007). Additionally, high income allows for wholesome food, which contains nutrients, necessary for the maintenance of proper health. Poor people are vulnerable to diseases such as cholera due to the poor sanitation in their living areas.

Physical Environment

Conditions in the natural environment such as safe water for usage and clean air and man-made environments such as workplace safety, safe housing, and decent roads affect an individual’s health. Those who are employed are healthier than unemployed. The employed with adequate control over their working conditions are the healthiest.

Gender

Male and female individuals are diagnosed with various diseases at different times in their lifetime. For example, most females suffer menopause after 35 years of age. They also have different occupations and incomes, more often due to the view of society.

Policies

Government policies directly or indirectly influence people’s health. Some policies affect a portion of the population while also encouraging a change in behavior. For example, escalating the tobacco taxes will improve the health of smokers by reducing the number of tobacco consumers (Galea, 2007).

Education

Education determines the population’s wellbeing. Education provides individuals with the knowledge to solve problems and gives a feeling of management over life situations. A person with low levels of education is coupled with poor health and more health problems than those with high levels of education.

Health Services

The availability, quality, and use of health services affect a person’s health. For instance, people who do not possess health insurance are more unlikely to seek prevention and are more probable to holdup treatment than those who have insurance.