Course: Community Nursing.
Social factor
After reading about all the 5 determinants of health, I have chosen to describe the Social Factors. The social health determinants encompass both the physical conditions and social factors pertaining to the environment in which individuals are born, work, play, learn, live and age. It is also imperative to note that physical and social health determinants affect a broad scope of health, quality, and functioning of the outcomes of life. On one hand, there are a number of social health determinants. They may include access to basic resources required to meet day to day needs like healthful foods, living wages, job opportunities as well as education. Moreover, social determinants constitute social activities and norms, exposure to social disorders, violence and crimes, social interactions and support, exposure to emerging technologies and mass media like cell phones or internet, social economic conditions like concentrated poverty, quality schools, transportation options, and residential segregation together with transportation alternatives ("Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020", 2016).
On the other hand, there are physical determinants of health and they comprise of the natural surroundings such weather, climate change, and plants. Also, physical health determinants constitute of built environment, work sites, recreational settings and schools, housing, neighborhoods and homes, exposure to physical hazards and toxic substances, physical barriers, particularly to the disabled people, and aesthetic elements. Essential to mention is that the interaction between people and their physical and social environment worsens the poor health outcomes ("Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020", 2016).
The social factor health determinant is pertinent as at provides informative and educative data of the various social and physical determinants that cause poor health upon one's exposure to them. This information is crucial as provides caution to individuals so that they can avoid or mitigate these determinants from their environments so as to lead a healthy life.
This health determinant relates to Health Teaching as a Public Health Intervention Program. This is because health teaching program incorporates communication of skills, ideas, and facts aimed at changing practices, behaviors, beliefs, values, attitudes and knowledge of communities, systems, families, and individuals(Nies & McEwen, n.d.). These aspects of health teaching program intervention highly relate to the Physical and Social health determinants discussed under Social Factors. They are aimed at sensitizing the community on the vast poor health causal factors that they can shun from.
References
Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020. (2016). Healthypeople.gov. Retrieved 25 October 2016, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-of-Health
Nies, M. & McEwen, M. Community/public health nursing.
Question
As a nurse what will be the actions you will take in your community.? What conseguences would your community face if the determinant you choose does not work. ? How does this relate to one or two of the essential public health box 1-2 of on page 6 of Mies & McEwen 2015 text.
References
Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020. (2016). Healthypeople.gov. Retrieved 25 October 2016, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-of-Health
Nies, M. & McEwen, M. Community/public health nursing.
Determinants of Health
- What changes would need to happen in the community for the determinant of health you chose to improve? How might nurses be involved in those changes?
- How would the actions you might take as a community health nurse be different from or similar to the actions you might take in your current nursing role?
- What consequences would the community face if the determinant of health you chose does not improve?
- How does this relate to one or more of the essential public health services (Box 1-2) on page 6 of the Nies and McEwen (2015) text?