Chapter 5: Understanding Social Determinants of Health 3 CE Hours
Course overview The purpose of this course is to identify the five social determinants of hesalth (SDOH) for healthcare professionals; recognize the impact of social determinants on chronic Learning objectives At the conclusion of this course, the learner will: Differentiate the five social determinants of health. Determine the impact of social determinants on chronic disease, cancer, and COVID-19. Over the last few decades, there has been increased awareness of the nonmedical factors that contribute to health and health outcomes, known as social determinants of health (SDOH). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social determinants of health as “the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes ... conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces ... economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies, and political systems” (WHO, 2024). These factors have a significant impact on health inequities, creating unfair and avoidable differences in health status among populations. Social determinants of health are social and economic conditions that can contribute to poor health outcomes. These factors are distinct from behavior and genetic risk factors. These conditions include race/ethnicity, gender, educational background, income, occupation, employment status, immigrant status, marital status, language spoken, and address. This information can then be classified into categories and, when applied to a population, can affect access and availability of services, and potentially influence needs that affect health outcomes. The Healthy People 2030 initiative identified five distinct social determinants of health (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.): ● Neighborhood and built environment: Includes natural and green areas, safe areas for walking, access to public transportation, issues of safety/crime, adequate structures, and environmental conditions ● Economic stability: Related to the ability to earn a reliable income, access to employment, poverty, and affordable housing ● Healthcare access and quality: Includes access and availability to health services, insurance coverage, and health literacy ● Education access and quality: Includes language development and literacy, quality schools, and early childhood education ● Social and community context: Related to civic participation, group activities (includes recreational and societal), social cohesiveness or isolation, access to social services (includes mental health, domestic violence, child abuse), and rates of incarceration. Social determinants of health have been increasingly recognized as important contributors to health, chronic disease, and patient outcomes. For example, when people
disease, cancer, and COVID-19; and evaluate methods to decrease healthcare disparities at the patient level, practice level, and community level.
Differentiate methods to decrease healthcare disparities at the patient level, practice level, and community level.
INTRODUCTION
There is an increased awareness that social and environmental factors influence an individual’s ability and, perhaps, desire, to engage in healthy behaviors. Multiple studies have found that socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and occupational disparities exist in relation to mortality and life expectancy across the U.S. There also appears to be increasing disparity in several chronic diseases related to social determinants, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, despite the advances in medicine. This course serves to help healthcare providers play a significant role in decreasing disparity in their community by developing an awareness of social determinants of health and implementing change in their practice (WHO, 2024). have poor access to grocery stores with healthy foods, they are less likely to maintain good nutrition, thus increasing the risk of health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. In comparison to people who have access to healthy foods, those who do not have a lower life expectancy. Simply promoting healthy choices does not eliminate health disparities; governments and public health organizations must be involved to improve environmental conditions (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.). Discrimination is not formally identified as a social determinant of health, yet it is important to address the potential for its presence in healthcare. Discrimination, or unequal treatment due to social group assignment or physical characteristics, is most commonly associated with race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, income, and body size, and may manifest in ways that impact quality of life or health by impeding access to resources and information and causing bodily harm. Individual discrimination is manifest through slurs, threats, or actual harm to persons, and institutional discrimination occurs through the different allocation of resources to groups in areas such as housing, education, jobs, and criminal justice. Stress that occurs in day-to-day situations and interactions in the neighborhood, social and community setting, healthcare environment, and educational setting as a result of discrimination is under increasing investigation due to its potential role in health outcomes. Intermittent stress causes a physiologic response of increased heart rate, gastrointestinal distress, and anxiety, which generally subsides. However, when stress is prolonged or chronic, health outcomes worsen with greater exposures to stress.
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
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Book Code: MTX1326
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