Education as a Key Social Determinant
In every country on the planet, single parenting is a common occurrence. It entails mothers being responsible for one or more children without the physical, monetary and emotional support of their other biological parent. Becoming a single parent can result from various circumstances, including divorce, widowhood, and rejection. The status of single motherhood brings with it a slew of life issues that affect single moms’ and their kids’ health and welfare. According to Garcia et al., (2021), single moms face numerous problems when they transition to and maintain their status as single mothers, particularly health imbalances and injustices along with a variety of determinants such as employment/income, housing, education, Discrimination And Social Acceptability. Such socio-economic considerations have a significant impact on the lives of single mothers. The matters enclosed in the discussion include an analysis of key social determinants and health inequities, the recommendation for public health intervention, potential stakeholders and a conclusion.
Single mums are affected by education, which is a key social determinant of health. According to Hunter & Flores (2021), single moms have educational, social, and economic disadvantages, which exacerbates inequity, particularly when obtaining basic services like health care. High chances of disease infections, life span, and medical practices are strongly linked to education. Furthermore, academic achievement is important for health since it influences options like money and recruitment. Most single moms have a low educational level because of a lack of time to devote to their studies and often lack financial support to meet their educational goals. It is owing to the duties they have to care for their children; as a result, they lack the requisite abilities to find work. Every parent wishes their kids to do well in schooling because career excellence results in higher professional success. It is critical to back children’s educational achievement and be available whenever they require assistance. It can be difficult for a lone parent to educate their children, regardless of how passionately they value educating their kids. Single-parent households possess low pay and much fewer assets available to them, such as tuition and special curriculums (Hill-Briggs et al., 2021). Their kids have a higher chance of school dropout. The best part is that solitary households can discover resources to assist their kids in succeeding in academic endeavors. Conversely, due to a lack of jobs, the single mother will be unable to access medical care, reducing her life span and raising the illness rate. Health and education are two notions that are inextricably related. Single mothers with low education levels usually indulge in poor lifestyles and health behaviors due to a lack of knowledge. In addition, the poor lifestyle can affect the children available in the household of single mothers in their academic development due to a lack of financial stability to fund their studies accordingly.
Housing is another crucial social determinant of health affecting single mothers. Single moms face a tremendous handicap in their society regarding finding and getting accommodation. This scenario results from the poor quality of life that single mothers face due to their low incomes and education level, and unskilled job status. As a result, the single mothers’ quality of life is then described by housing insecurity, increased tension, mental disorders, suicide thoughts, and hard liquor issues which are unhealthy for an individual’s life. It results in lower life satisfaction and lower health status due to mental distress and feeling minor in society as they encounter low levels of standards because of their low income. Exposure to inexpensive, adequate, and secure housing significantly impacts people’s health care results since it minimises the likelihood of bodily and psychological disorders. The shelterless or those residing in congested areas are the most vulnerable single mothers in terms of bodily and psychological well-being (Owens et al., 2020). Most single mothers’ well-being suffers from poor accommodation and lifestyle situations. Elevated levels of viral illness, recurring diseases, and breathing and intestinal ailments are only a few major health challenges that shelterless people and those in poor surroundings face.
The Impact of Housing on Single Mothers’ Health
Employment conditions are another important socioeconomic factor of health for single mothers. As per Pitkänen et al., (2021), single mothers face significant obstacles while seeking to join the job fields or seek employment. Most employers are hesitant to hire people who are single parents (Baah, Teitelman & Riegel, 2019). Other issues, including lack of education and work experience, may restrict single mothers’ job opportunities. Individuals’ survival rates are heavily influenced by their job stability. Occupation is important since it provides a significant source of money, social ties, and medical care protection (Volgsten & Schmidt, 2019). Furthermore, research shows that unemployed or employed in bad conditions have a greater risk of disease, impairment, and mortality. Single mothers frequently seek jobs in occupations that need little competence. Retail, restaurant services, and construction are examples of industries where employers provide few or no job options to improve flexibility. Single mothers’ access to adequate medical care is limited due to a lack of privileges, including medical policy cover.
In order to reduce the social determinants of health among single mothers, the state must create social integration initiatives for single parents across the country. To train single mothers and improve their expertise and knowledge in many professions, various ways can be used. Mature training, professional and vocational training, mature post-secondary training and special training programs help single mothers overcome educational challenges (Choi, Jeong & Kim, 2019). Additionally, single mothers who have been out of school for a long time can benefit from these academic initiatives, provided the national and local authorities ensure that they resume their education and receive certificates upon completion. It will be much more important to provide credentials since single mothers will be able to utilize them to demonstrate to prospective employers that they are qualified and competent (Fuller,2021). In addition to employment skills, single mothers should be taught basic skills, which they may use to deal with really difficult circumstances after returning to their societies after completing their education, minimizing the risk of the psychological condition worsening.
In terms of housing, many single mothers cannot obtain adequate accommodation due to monetary limitations. Legislating rules targeted at rendering housing as inexpensive as appropriate, on the other hand, may make it easier for people to modify with a limited budget. Some measures make it difficult for single mothers to get social housing (Martin-West, 2019). As a result, governments can loosen some of these regulations to ensure that people have access to affordable housing irrespective of ethnicity. Furthermore, most single moms are stigmatized by their societies, which leads to anger. Most people may reject living near single parents, which may lead to property owners refusing to provide housing for single mothers. The state could organise initiatives to enhance public understanding and notify people that single mothers have been reformed and disciplined. Enhancing consciousness will result in a higher degree of acceptability in the community. Single mothers’ low satisfaction levels will be reduced if they live inadequate dwellings and locations.
Because of their bad behavior, most single mothers face significant obstacles when looking for work. The government must recognise that job is essential for survival and that being jobless raises prostitution rates. Authorities must establish new regulations that permit firms to absorb single mothers without discrimination to avoid such situations. Firms should be prohibited from limiting employment chances to single mothers (Hertz, Mattes & Shook, 2021). The state should provide social assistance to single mothers who lack adequate credentials and qualifications while awaiting learning. Improving social aid will enhance single mothers’ lifestyles, resulting in improved medical results and illness prevention.
Employment Conditions and Single Motherhood
Multiple stakeholders, including the national and local governments, regional officials, neighborhoods, and anti-governmental organisations, play an important responsibility in ensuring the safety of single moms in the community. The state assures that all educational fields are supplied with single motherhood educational facilities. The state should also guarantee that academic interventions available to single mothers include access to professional training. The state is also in charge of implementing laws that support single moms’ peaceful integration into societies and industries. For example, governments should be prohibited from promoting individual and state sector companies and landlords to refuse single moms’ employment and residential options.
Single mothers should strive for social integration to gradually ease their incorporation into society. Nevertheless, due to rejections and animosity from community individuals, societal integration remains a big difficulty for single mothers. As a result, community-based leaders play a key role in boosting people’s consciousness and persuading residents to welcome single mothers. Single mothers may be more likely to turn to prostitution if they are constantly rejected, ridiculed, and judged by their peers (Harsin, 2019). Furthermore, local officials have an important function in minimizing prostitution among single mothers. Community officials must maintain contact with single mothers and impose rules and guidelines on how they should engage with other society residents. Anti-governmental groups are in charge of providing single mothers with additional training and social support. The type of training provided could be work-related or life-related
Conclusion
Many single mothers face significant difficulties integrating into societies and adapting to life as single mothers. Such individuals experience a variety of obstacles as a result of their status as single mothers, including obtaining necessities such as housing and finding and sustaining employment prospects. These difficulties have a major effect on the single mother’s well-being and health. Single mothers confront a number of social determinants, including academic limitations, shortage of adequate and cheap accommodation, and difficulties obtaining and keeping jobs. For example, lack of or low degree of knowledge raises illness, leads to poor healthcare practices, and shortens life span. Unemployed people may be unable to obtain work, leaving them insufficient finances to care for their well-being. However, major players such as the national and local administrations, anti-governmental agencies, and local leaders have important duties to ensure single moms’ safe entry into society. Offering academic programs, easing severe rules, and increasing local consciousness will smoothly help single mothers reintegrate into society.
References
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Choi, S. J., Jeong, J. C., & Kim, S. N. (2019). Impact of vocational education and training on adult skills and employment: An applied multilevel analysis. International Journal of Educational Development, 66, 129-138.
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Owens, M. R., Brito-Silva, F., Kirkland, T., Moore, C. E., Davis, K. E., Patterson, M. A., … & Tucker, W. J. (2020). Prevalence and social determinants of food insecurity among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrients, 12(9), 2515.
Pitkänen, J., Remes, H., Moustgaard, H., & Martikainen, P. (2021). Parental socioeconomic resources and adverse childhood experiences as predictors of not in education, employment, or training: a Finnish register-based longitudinal study. Journal of youth studies, 24(1), 1-18.
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