James’s Medical History and Health Issues
The current study focuses upon the social determinants of health and the impact it produces upon the overall health of an individual. It consists of a number of social and biological factors which could strongly affect the mental and physical well being of an individual. In this respect, the environment and the social circumstances within which a person lives has a profound effect upon the physical and mental well being of the individual.
The social determinants of health comprises of a number of factors which could be discussed over here with regards to their impact upon the life of an individual and the community as a whole. The factors consist of health, education, economic stability, neighbourhood and community context. It has been seen that an amalgamation of all these factors influence the lifestyle of an individual. In this respect, health and economic stability have been associated with sufficient education and job opportunities.
The social determinants of health are a much more comprehensive term and consist of a number of factors. Each one of the factors produced differential expression upon the life of individual people. As mentioned by Stevenson (2018), the society and the neighbourhood of an individual produce a strong impact upon their mental and emotional well being. In my opinion, the poor economic or living condition can subject an individual to a number of health issues. As suggested by Adler et al. (2016), social discrimination of any from can affect the psychological well being of an individual. Thus I think, discrimination based on language, community, race, religion could subject one to social isolation leading to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
The education and level of knowledge possessed by an individual also governs their approach towards health. I also think the lack of effective knowledge along with cultural paradoxes could prevent an individual from a approaching the appropriate healthcare channel. In this respect, the individual suffering from mental illnesses are often subjected to great amount of societal stigma. Hence, they have often been seen to hesitate in taking help from the mental healthcare channels. The health of an individual and community is determined by access to various support services received from home, neighbourhoods and community (Mitrou et al., 2014). The determinants of health also comprises of the pattern of social engagement and a sense of security, which is established by becoming an integral part of the society. As mentioned by Braveman and Gottlieb (2014), the equitable access to health and social care services for each and everyone within the community can also promote general well being.
Social Determinants of Health and James’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being
In order to understand the effect of the social determinants of health on the overall health and well being of an individual a number of case studies could be considered. In this context, James was a 49 years old military member living in Adelaide. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and had a high BMI of 33. James suffers from post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and has lower back of knee injuries owing to overseas deployments. The high BMI, presence of type 2 diabetes and PTSD has resulted in James be declared as unfit. The unhealthy lifestyle and the reduction in physical activity has led the patient put on considerable amount of weight, which further contributed in a number of health complications. James had been removed from his position of a combat soldier. Additionally, the uncontrollable diabetes could result in him losing his role of a sedentary administration.
In this respect, a number of factors had combined to produce significant impact in the life of the James. For instance, removal from his job role of that of a combat soldier and the future risk of medical discharge has developed anxiety within the patients. Here, the poor physical health of the patient has resulted in him being removed from his present job role. I think the loss of present job role and future prospects of medical discharge affected James on a psychological level, as a result of which he started developing anxiety disorders. The depression and anxiety could further complicate the patient health by affecting some of the basic metabolic function and activities (Badland et al., 2014). As mentioned by Marmot and Allen (2014), low mood disorder have been seen to produce a significant impact upon the level for production of hormones such as epinephrine and non-epinephrine which further regulates the amount of production of blood sugar level to a considerable amount.
Some of the social determinants of health have a considerable effect on the ability of people access health care services. As mentioned by Garg, Boynton-Jarrett and Dworkin (2016), based upon the ability of an individual to access healthcare services they could preferably manage their health conditions in the long run. In the presented case scenario, James was removed from his job role of that of a combat soldier and was put in a sedentary officer role. Hence, in the lack of adequate finances the patient will not be able to avail appropriate medical services (Baum & Friel, 2017). Thus, the future risk of medical discharge made the patient dependent upon mental health and anxiety treatment and care services. Though, James received appropriate mental healthcare services, he was an alcoholic and lacked sufficient physical exercise in his daily routine. Hence, access to a physiotherapist could help James manage his conditions better.
James’s access to health care and support services
On the other hand, the case study of Jared could be highlighted over here who was a 34 years old man living with type 2 diabetes for the past five years. He had been unemployed for a very long time and had been living on disability pension. He had been suffering from sporadic depression. Jared had been prescribed metformin for the control of his diabetes. Jared had been particularly careful of what he had been eating, as eating large potion unhealthy meals have affected his health severely. He finds the management and monitoring of his condition difficult. Jared was put on a chronic disease management plan and was also put under a dietician and exercise physiologist. Some of his services were covered partly by the Medicare. Jared applied to the National Diabetes Service Scheme for availing some of the diabetes management features such as the glucose testing strips at discounter rate. However, the paperwork involved and the time lapse before application and registration often becomes very cumbersome (Social Determinants of Health Alliance, 2015). Additionally, there was difficulty in getting adequate access to healthcare services as there were very few dieticians available who he could actually approach for the making of his diet plan. Jared also felt that the lack of access to Medicare funded weight loss coach resulted in an economic burden on his part, as he had not proper and adequate source of employment.
Some of the steps and procedure which could be implemented over here for providing the patient with equitable healthcare services were revision and modification of the national and government policies. For instance, the paper works involved in getting help from national service commission for diabetes care and management were huge. Also I think, the lack of a fast paced technology made the management of diabetes condition difficult for the patient. In my opinion, reduction of the delivery time of the proper health care services along with incorporation of fast paced technologies could also reduce the recovery time of the patient.
Conclusion
The current assignment discusses the social determinants of health and the manner in which its impact upon the life of particular individuals and community as a whole. In the current study, two different case studies have been taken into consideration. For instance, James had been removed from his present job role based upon his physical and mental ill health. Additionally, he was suffering from the anxiety of medical discharge which could make him vulnerable to economic instability. In the lack of money he would not be able to avail diabetes care or mental healthcare services which could make his conditions worse. Hence, a lack of community based free healthcare services was one of the major deficits. Additionally, the cumbersome process of applying to social funds for availing long term care services makes an individual vulnerable to poor health (AIHW, 2018). Additionally, the lack of adequate support from social and personal channels such as friends and families can further affect the quality of care. Hence, the some of the healthcare policies need to revise in order to provide adequate health care services at faster pace and affordable prices to the general public. Additionally, community wide campaign and support programs can also help in the generation of sufficient awareness regarding health management aspects.
References
Adler, N. E., Cutler, D. M., Jonathan, J. E., Galea, S., Glymour, M., Koh, H. K., & Satcher, D. (2016). Addressing social determinants of health and health disparities. National Academy of Medicine. Perspectives: Vital Directions for Health and Health Care Initiative.
AIHW. (2018). Australia’s health 2018. Canberra: AIHW. Retrieved July 2018 from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health- 2018/contents/table-of-contents
Badland, H., Whitzman, C., Lowe, M., Davern, M., Aye, L., Butterworth, I., … & Giles-Corti, B. (2014). Urban liveability: emerging lessons from Australia for exploring the potential for indicators to measure the social determinants of health. Social science & medicine, 111, 64-73.
Baum, F., & Friel, S. (2017). Politics, policies and processes: a multidisciplinary and multimethods research programme on policies on the social determinants of health inequity in Australia. BMJ open, 7(12), e017772.
Braveman, P., & Gottlieb, L. (2014). The social determinants of health: it’s time to consider the causes of the causes. Public health reports, 129(1_suppl2), 19-31.
Garg, A., Boynton-Jarrett, R., & Dworkin, P. H. (2016). Avoiding the unintended consequences of screening for social determinants of health. Jama, 316(8), 813-814.
Marmot, M., & Allen, J. J. (2014). Social determinants of health equity, 25-34.
Mitrou, F., Cooke, M., Lawrence, D., Povah, D., Mobilia, E., Guimond, E., & Zubrick, S. R. (2014). Gaps in Indigenous disadvantage not closing: a census cohort study of social determinants of health in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand from 1981–2006. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 201.
Social Determinants of Health Alliance. (2015). What are the SDOH? . Retrieved July 2015 from https://www.socialdeterminants.org.au/
Stevenson, F. (2018). Social Determinants of Health. Sociology as Applied to Health and Medicine, 23.
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