Social Determinants of Health Inequalities †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Social Determinants of Health Inequalities. Answer: Introduction: Every human being should do all the activities in their power to take care of their health as it determines the comfort of an individual. The determinants of health range from social, cultural and physical or environmental factors. The picture above. portrays a mother and her daughter in the kitchen with some shopping bags full of vegetables on the counter. The two seem happy from their expressions on their faces. The primary determinant of health portrayed in the image above is social contentment and healthy family relationships. We live in a social world made up of different kinds of people, and it is important to find healthy relationships that result in happiness. Happy relationships imply less stress, fewer complications, and therefore strong interactions. The family is the closest social setting that an individual has and it is considered to have a high impact on their lives. It is due to family activities that people end up happy or sad depending on the nature of their occurrence. Happiness differs for different people including financial satisfaction, strong family ties, the success of children in education or careers and many others (Patrick, 2006). Since family is a social association, then the members should stick together and help each other to ensure that everyone is satisfied. Research shows that most mental health cases are associated with people whose families have fractures and divisions at one point. The patients seem to be socially disconnected as they dont have a good relationship with their children or parents to give them an exposure of living collectively. People in happy and comfortable relationships are more likely to be physical, medically and mentally healthy as they have more issues that build them than to destroy their personalities. A familys primary purpose is to support each other and provide a favorable environment that ensures for the positive development of each member in the setting (Viner, 2012). An individuals social behavior with people at work, school any other place depends on their family ties. It is normal that we all have different traits in the way we interact with people because our upbringing can never be the same. People learn how to treat others from the way they see their families deal with each other. Social contentment is the greatest determinant of health as it affects the emotional growth of an individual. The nature of the social interaction of a person determines their perspectives of life. Happiness is simply the positive perception of all the situations facing us in our day to day life, and that is greatly influenced by the people we interact with and the nature of the relationships (WHO, 2017). Health stability is closely associated with happy social relationships whether at family, work, school or community level. We can reduce health complications primarily mental and emotional issues by maintaining positive relationships with each other at any sector and stage of life. Factors that improve health status People can enhance their wellbeing through some ways including healthy eating, exercising, exposure to the natural environment and social support. These factors help an individual to maintain a healthy life or health from previous diseases depending on their stages of damage. The social contentment of an individual, however, gives them a chance to get involved in the other activities known to improve their health. Healthy Eating: Diet is the central aspect of human living that determines their resistant to any disease. Food has been significantly associated with cases of obesity, high blood pressure and heart diseases in the most negative ways ever. It is therefore important for every individual to ensure that their daily meals are made up of all the nutrients (Amarasinghe, 2009). Balanced meals ensure that the body gets all the necessary benefits from the nutrients found in different types of foods. It is also important to reduce or get rid of too much sugar, processed and junk foods as they facilitate the development of diet-related diseases. Doctors encourage more intakes of fresh fruits and vegetables to give the body more of the natural nutrients and less of processed chemicals (Zsembik, 2005). However, this kind of lifestyle can only be achieved if an individual has a positive social life as the perspective and support is the greatest determinant. Exercising: It is important for every individual to be physically active as it gives the body a chance to fight bacteria and heal faster. Research portrays that people who spend most of their days seated and inactive are more prone to health issues like obesity and high blood pressure. Physical activity includes going for runs, gym, walking, swimming, bicycle riding and other activities (Leonard, 2008). Sick individuals can also benefit a lot from exercise since it can enable them to breathe properly and reduce the cases of heart problems. Exercise is as well supported by the extent of social contentment of an individual as it requires dedication and support. Exposure to natural environment: nature is in itself a healing factor considering the availability of fresh air, water and physical environment (UN, 2017). Sick individuals need the most natural environment to get a peace of mind which facilitates their healing in the fastest ways possible (Gazzinelli, 2012). It is proven that people in the countryside with less pollution from industries and vehicles are more likely to be healthy. It is therefore important to ensure that we get access to the fresh physical environment for the sake of our health. The social life of an individual determines their ability to deal with health situations when they face them. The impact of family, friends, and people around a person determines their health status or how they deal with their current situation at hand. Every patient should receive the support they require from the people around their environment to ensure that they can handle their status with confidence (Marmot, 2005). All the other factors of improving ones health are all possible if one is getting the most appropriate social support. References Amarasinghe, A. D. (2009). The influence of socioeconomic and environmental determinants on health and obesity: a West Virginia case study. . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, . Gazzinelli, A. C.-O. (2012). A research agenda for helminth diseases of humans: social ecology, environmental determinants, and health systems. . PLoS neglected tropical diseases, , 6(4), e1603. Leonard, T. C. (2008). Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein, Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Constitutional Political Economy , 19(4), 356-360. Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health inequalities. . The Lancet , 365(9464), 1099-1104. Patrick, D. L. (2006). Reducing oral health disparities: a focus on social and cultural determinants. BMC Oral Health , 6(1), S4. United Nations (2017) 70 Ways the UN makes a difference. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/un70/en/content/70ways Viner, R. M. (2012). Adolescence and the social determinants of health. The Lancet, , 379(9826), 1641-1652. World Health Organization (WHO) (2017). 10 Ways to improve the quality of care in health facilities. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/features/2017/quality-care-facilities/en/ Zsembik, B. A. (2005). Ethnic variation in health and the determinants of health among Latinos. Social science medicine , 61(1), 53-63.