Determinants of Health – A practical approach!

Health it is the state of completephysical mental and social well-being not just the absence of disease or infirmity and healthiness are some things we attempt to realize not just individually but also as a community but if we look around us our family friends and others we know that health is very variable for example in 2016 the life.

 expectancy of a child born in Sierra Leone was 53 years while in Australia it was 83 years but even within Australia the life expectancy of indigenous people is about 10 years lower than that of non-indigenous people and even within a specific group of people health can change based on a person's income level of education or occupation so why is health so variable to answer that question,

we must understand the factors that influence health the factors that influence a person's health are called determinants of health these include who they are such as age sex and genetic makeup and what they do as in health behaviors such as smoking physical activity.

alcohol use and diet health is also largely influenced by the conditions in which people are born grow live work and age collectively called the social determinants of health the social determinants of health are shaped by the distribution of cash power and resources and a world national and native level these can cause health inequities which is that the difference in health between different groups of people that's unfair and avoidable let's take a glance at the social determinants of health employing a framework developed by the planet Health.

 Organization consistent with this framework there are two broad groups of health determinants structural and intermediary structural determinants are the socio-economic and political context that people live in it includes governance economic social and public policies and also the social and culture values placed on health issues these.

factors can lead to the unequal distribution of material and monetary resources which can shape a person's socio-economic position socio-economic position is characterized by education occupation income gender race or ethnicity and social class the structural determinants of health operate through a set of intermediary determinants that impact an individual's exposure vulnerability and outcomes to factors affecting their health these include material circumstances like the standard of housing the financial means to shop for healthy food clothing or other requirements for healthy living and work,

environments psychosocial factors like stressful living circumstances relationships and social support behavioral and biological factors in addition to these health systems determine the type of health care the quality of it and how easily accessible it is bridging the structural and intermediary determinants our social cohesion and social capital the links between all these determinants are not always linear but can be complex interdependent and interact in many different ways to influence health for example or income can limit opportunities for achieving good health and conversely poor health can limit.

opportunities for people to participate in the workforce and remember these determinants can act across the course of a person's life so the next time you think about a health issue consider not only who they are and what they do but also the conditions in which they are born grow live work and age because if we understand and act on them we can build a healthier world for everyone you