Study Discussion: Determinants of Health

Study Discussion: Determinants of Health

Study Discussion: Determinants of Health

Week 1 discussion Determinants of Health What are some factors that make some people healthy and others ill? Healthy People 2020 identifies five determinants of health that influence the health of individuals and populations. Healthy People 2020 describes them as “a range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health status” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014, About Determinants of Health, para. 1). Determinants fall into five categories including: (a) policy making, (b) social factors, (c) health services, (d) individual behavior, and (e) biology and genetics. Go to the “Determinants of Health” link at http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-of-Health (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and click on each determinant to read about them. Choose one of the five determinants. In your post, describe this determinant and its importance. Discuss how this determinant relates to one intervention from the Public Health Intervention Wheel (Nies & McEwen, 2015, pp. 14–15). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Healthy People 2020: About Determinants of Health. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-of-Health (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Determinants of health may be biological, behavioral, sociocultural, economic, and ecological. Broadly, the determinants of health can be divided into four, core categories: nutrition, lifestyle, environment, and genetics, which are like four pillars of the foundation. When any one of the pillars of health determinants becomes weak, a support system is needed. This is considered the fifth determinant of health and involves medical care (Figure 3.3). A brief review of these core determinants of health will provide more insight.Deprivation is a fundamental determinant of health. The so-called ‘Glasgow effect’ refers to the higher levels of mortality and morbidityexperienced in the deprived post-industrial region of West Central Scotland, with Glasgow at its centre, which exceeds that which may be explained by deprivation alone (Hanlon et al., 2006; Bromley and Shelton, 2010; McCartney et al., 2011). These measures are so significant that they skew the overall picture of Scotland’s health. The ‘Glasgow effect’ reflects a slower rate of health improvement in the city compared to the rest of the UK, a phenomenon which may date from the early 1980s. A similar effect has also been reported in parts of both South Wales and North East England (Bromley and Shelton, 2010).