Social And Economic Influence On Health

Health in Social Context

Discuss about the Social and Economic Influence on Health.

In this theme, I have learnt that health has been defined by the absence of diseases in someone`s body with the concept that the body is like a machine whose parts complements each other. It is vital to note that one is considered healthy when the state of the mental, the physical, and the social well-being are correct (Stephens, 2008, p.1175). Health protection is done through the regulation of human behavior. The practices in a given religion as well as the customs of a given society determine public health thus quarantines are used to regulate health during outbreaks. In 1840-1870 there was Miasma regulation that targeted controlling unsanitary environmental problems through the application of portable water and projects in sanitation.

In 1180-1930 public health was concerned with the germ phenomenon. It was based on the idea that germs were the infectious origins of illnesses in people thus humans needed vaccination for them to be safe from diseases. In 1940-160 the field became focused on preventive medicine whose main aim was to control the diseases rather than curing them. The main target was the high-risk groups of people who had contracted the disease. It was a stage where medicine dominated the public health. The period shed light to the treatment of communicable diseases. Primary health care was the next phase in public health. It was during 1970-1980. The main objective was to ensure that everybody in the society received proper medical care. It was based more on a preventive scale.

I learnt that Equality was emphasized because all humans require health for them to operate effectively and efficiently. The social determinants of health played a big role in providing health to all. The health promotion is the most present stage of public health. It focuses on the educational, political actions and economic factors that enable people to have control over their health issues. It empowers them to improve their health matters. I learnt that public health is based on a people`s lifestyle choices. The social networks are key players in public health thus individuals should maintain favorable living and working environments (Stephens, 2008, p.1178). The economic, cultural and environmental factors controls people`s health. The preventive measures that persons apply to avoid contracting a disease contribute towards public health. Public health aims to reduce the mobility rate.

Social Capital and Global Health

I learnt that there are various mechanisms that are used to encourage people prevent diseases. Behavior change is one of the strategies applied in public health. Individuals are encouraged to acquire healthy behaviors that will keep them safe from any conditions. One-to-one counseling is the most effective ways of people change their behavior. It is because people are influenced by what others think and behave. The goal of this plan is to ensure there is compliance in people. Changing into good habits refrains one from undertaking those that will be a threat to himself or the neighboring people in his life (Marmot, Shipley and Rose, 1984, p.1004). Educating people on the benefits of public health will not convince them to change their behaviors. According to public health, the educational approach is meant to provide health education to all people across the globe. It is a platform whereby knowledge about diseases is availed to individuals hence assists them in making sound decisions. Empowerment refers to the knowledge based on practice that people acquire or have realized that they can apply it to better their lives.

I have also learnt that the policies in social change affect public health. The way the environment is perceived and used has either a negative or a positive impact on the health of the people. The policies advocates for choices that have a positive influence on health. The lifestyle determinants of health are rooted on the individual efforts that one makes to change the behavior. It is agreed that individual have different behaviors for different reasons (Stephens, 2008, p.1181). Everyone should note that the decisions influences other people`s choices thus health should not be a salient matter in life. In different times, individuals are compelled to make lifestyle choices for reasons that are beyond their personal gain.

According to experts in public health, health requires to be evaluated (Thrift, Nancarrow and Bauman, 2011, p.1339). Information is vital n the assessment of health in people. the various indicators used to evaluate the level of health in people includes, self-reports, the life expectancy rates, the mobility rate and the reasons behind them as well as the morbidity. Information can be collected using different angles. For instance, departments of public health in organizations can use routine data such as census. Conducting interviews with people, using the help of media, and public meetings and forums are other avenues that are used to gather information.

Exploring the Causes Behind the Patterns

The material challenged the way I think about health. I began to think of those people who do not get the opportunity to express themselves on matters concerning health. Those individual include those who are homeless, the ethnic groups in our societies, the people who live in remote places and the unemployed people. How does public health play a role in their lives?

The World Health Organization recognizes the social determinants as those economic and social factors that dictate the variations in people`s health. They are present in the living conditions; they influence the chances of one contracting a disease. Some experts suggest that determinants are influenced by the public policies formulated by the governing body of a given group of people. Stress is viewed as common cause of diseases in the current world. People have work related stress, family issues, among others that make their health vulnerable. Individuals experience anxiety when facing negative emotions (Stephens, 2008, p.1183) .

Acute and chronic diseases result to stress. It can be a cause of physical illness such as flu. Events that are stressful in nature lead to health complications sleep interference or even insomnia. How people respond to stress differently depending o several factors such as age, gender, genetics among others (Reich, 1978). Education is a factor that is applied in public health. People have used education systems to pass the message of the importance of health. The benefits of good health have been explained to individuals through educative platforms. Human health uses this avenue to create awareness on the area of health (Nutbeam, 2000, p. 261). The survival of humankind heavily relies on education and the developments in research across all fields in health issues. Social relations contribute largely on matters regarding public health. The support networks created ensures that people are taken care of as well as the help that one gets from others. In the field of public health, the assistance can come from different sources. They include family members, organizations, friends or the government.

The healthy foods are important to our lives. The foods that people consume benefit them and also cause problems to their health. Some foods have been connected with diseases that affect the normal functioning of the body. Maintaining a healthy diet has been advocated for many years as the main idea that can help eradicate the health problems related with the food we eat. Complications such as obesity are due to the unhealthy foods that we consume in everyday life as well as the lack of regular exercises. A balanced diet is responsible for providing the required energy in our bodies through availing the necessary nutrients. The healthy diets provide good nutrition without toxicity or abnormal weight gain that leads to people being overweight (Spettigue and Henderson, 2004, p.16).

Social Determinants of Health as Addressed In The Media Materials.

Other diseases such as diabetes type2, cancer, hypertension and the heart diseases are as s result of taking foods with excess toxic levels. Medical institutions have composed nutrition guides for people to follow as it educates them on the right choices of foods. Health care is another aspect that has contributed heavily on public health. The quality of health care that people receive dictates the state at which people are living in a given community (Marmot, Shipley and Rose, 1984, p.1006). Healthcare facilities have managed to control the health of people through diagnosis carried out, the treatments issued to the people and the preventive measures of diseases that are employed. Health care is largely influenced by the social and the economic factors in a given place or community.

Unemployment and the working environments dictates people`s health. A steady job and a favorable working environment boosts one`s health. Employment helps one acquire income and other benefits in life thus minimizing the chances of having illnesses. The loss of job and employment makes one have negative health effects such as depression. Wellness programs in the work station, training in the jobs and education initiatives in the places of work boosts people`s attitudes and moods to perform quality work. The employees remain healthy hence creating job opportunities remains the best strategy for expanding opportunities for healthy living in many countries across the world (Conrad, 1988, p.486). Early development of people when they are young influences their health conditions throughout their lives.

The development of a person is a vital element in the health of an individual because he undergoes through various changes that impact this health. The changes include acquiring motor skills, changes in personalities, acquiring language application skills and developing a self-concept (Kawachi, Subramanian and Kim, 2008, p12).  The processes of change influence the choices that an individual makes on various matters. Individual behaviors result to characteristics that are embraced or disliked by the society hence the changes in cognitive state, the physical and the social state of people influence public health.  

Disability and gender have been thought to influence people`s health in many ways. It is because disability leads to people king decisions that favor their health conditions. When they choose activities that are a threat to their conditions, they endanger their levels of survival in the world. On the other hand, gender dictates the choices that people make. They vary for different options concerning the type of job to pursue, the lifestyle choices to apply, among others. The choices affect public health because once a person`s health is compromised, the science of preventing an illness so as to promote life is applied. The plan to promote human health is done by either individuals, public or private groups or the whole society

References

Conrad, P., 1988. Worksite health promotion: the social context. Social Science & Medicine, 26(5), pp.485-489.

Kawachi, I., Subramanian, S.V. and Kim, D., 2008. Social capital and health. In Social capital and health (pp. 1-26). Springer New York.

Marmot, M.G., Shipley, M.J. and Rose, G., 1984. Inequalities in death—specific explanations of a general pattern?. The Lancet, 323(8384), pp.1003-1006.

Nieminen, T., Prättälä, R., Martelin, T., Härkänen, T., Hyyppä, M.T., Alanen, E. and Koskinen, S., 2013. Social capital, health behaviours and health: a population-based associational study. BMC Public Health, 13(1), p.613.

Nutbeam, D., 2000. Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century. Health promotion international, 15(3), pp.259-267.

Reich, W.T., 1978. Encyclopedia of bioethics. In 4 vols.

Spettigue, W. and Henderson, K.A., 2004. Eating disorders and the role of the media. The Canadian child and adolescent psychiatry review, 13(1), p.16.

Stephens, Christine. “Social capital in its place: Using social theory to understand social capital and inequalities in health.” Social Science & Medicine 66, no. 5 (2008): 1174-1184.

Thrift, A.P., Nancarrow, H. and Bauman, A.E., 2011. Maternal smoking during pregnancy among Aboriginal women in New South Wales is linked to social gradient. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 35(4), pp.337-342.