Determinants of Health

Question 1

Name 3 determinants of health

Answer 1

Socioeconomic environment

Physical Environment

Individual characteristics and behaviours (e.g genetics and biology)

Question 2

Describe how income and social status is a determinant of health?

Answer 2

• Higher income and social status=better health
• Greater gap between rich and poor=greater differences in health

Question 3

Describe how the level of education is a determinant of health

Answer 3

• Low in education=poorer health, ignorant of hygiene practices,lower self-confidence, more stress

Question 4

Describe how physical environment is a determinant of health

Answer 4

• clean water, clean air, clean workplaces, safe houses, communities and roads= better health

Question 5

Describe how social support networks are a determinant of health

Answer 5

• greater support from friends, families and communities= better health
• customs, beliefs and traditions can also affect health outcomes

Question 6

Describe how genetics and behaviour are a determinant of health

Answer 6

• genetics plays a role in determining lifespan, chances of developing certain illnesses and healthiness
• Balanced diet and exercise, avoiding smoking and drinking and how we deal with stress also informs over health

Question 7

What is the difference between sex and gender?

Answer 7

Sex=Biological differences; chromosomal, hormones, internal and external sex organs

Gender=Characteristics a society or culture defines as masculine or feminine

Question 8

The meaning of intersex

Answer 8

Intersex=A term to describe someone born with physical sex characteristics that dont fit medical and social norms for female and male bodies

Question 9

The meaning of transgender

Answer 9

transgender= When someone’s gender identity is not congruent with their sex assigned at birth

Question 10

The meaning of non-binary

Question 11

Gender is an important determinant of health with two important dimensions:

1. Gender inequality
2. Addressing gender norms, roles and relations (gender mainstreaming)

What does these mean and how do they affect the health of women and girls?

Answer 11

1. Gender inequality puts the health of millions of women and girls at risk globally. Addressing gender equality helps to counter the historic burden of inequality and deprivation of rights faced by women and girls in households, communities, workplaces and health care
   settings.
2. Addressing gender norms, roles and relations and understanding and addressing gender-related causes of ill health and inequity enables appropriate and adequate policies and programmes (e.g in clinical trials for cardiovascular disease- indcluding a female sample as well)

• Gender mainstreaming - process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels.

Question 12

What are the five aspects in medicine and health, we should consider the gender perspective of:

Answer 12

1. Medical evidence- there will be clinical consequences to gender blind medical research and resulting medical evidence
2. Patient- realise different roles that masculinity and féminité play in men and women’s health
3. Provider- the ways in which the sex and gender of the provider can affect the health care event
4. Medical education-identify the gendered nature of medical knowledge/education/texts/teaching styles and environment
5. Clinical practice he ways in which sex and gender of the person impacts the clinical testing, diagnostics, treatments and clinical results

Question 13

Why is there a need to study women’s health?

Answer 13

Certain disorders are more common in women

Some disorders are more severe in women

The basic biological causes are not all known

Question 14

Describe some differences between men and women on a biological level that can result in differing outcomes to clinical trials, treatments and a diagonostics for example

Answer 14

1. There are differences in biochemistries at the cellular level that can affect health
2. Differences between men and women exist:
   - across lifespan
   - in metabolisms and suspceptibility to pharmacological agents
   - in behaviour and cognition

Question 15

What are the five recommendations put in place to better understand the sex differences in medicine and health outcomes?

Answer 15

1. Additional research on sex differences at the cellular level
2. Sex be included as a variable in basic and clinical study designs
3. Expanding on research on sex differences in cognitive ability
4. All human diseases be monitored for sex differences
5. Terms “sex” and “gender” be clarified

Question 16

Social determinants of women’s health include:

Answer 16

• level of education
• race and enthnicity
• individual behaviour
• access to care
• differences in income
• possession of health insurance
• environmental health risk factors

Question 17

What is successful aging?

Answer 17

Successful aging is aging healthily.

Successful aging and how it is achieved is an important new area for research

Question 18

What is the ratio of males to females across the lifespan?

Answer 18

Typicially, in Australia there is a little more males born ( 105:100- that is consistent with global worldwide ratio) however they typically die rates,earlier than the females who live longer.

Differences in typical mortality rates may be due to differential natural death rates, war casualties, deliberate gender control

Question 19

What is happening in China and India, that results in a drastically higher number of males being born than females?

Answer 19

Sex-selective abortion and infanticide resulted in excess of males
• China as a result of
one-child policy
• In parts of China and
India, 12–15% excess of young men
• Men will remain single
and will be unable to have families – social status dependent on marriage

Question 20

What is happening in many Arab countries like UAE, Bahrain and Qatar that results in more males in a certain age group?

Answer 20

• Normal birth ratio (M:F) • large-scale migration
• male labourers do not bring families with them

Question 21

What is happening in Eastern European countries such as Ukraine and russia that results in a darastically greater number of females in these countries?

Answer 21

Eastern Europe (Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia) • Normal birth ratio (M:F) • higher male mortality in Soviet era • enormous (by western standards) rate of alcoholism in former Soviet states

Question 22

What is the burden of disease and how does this affect the women’s health and their quality of life?

Answer 22

• Quality of life is more than absence of disease
• Women live approx. 7 yrs longer than men •

Women live more years functionally disabled from stroke,
depression, hip fracture, osteoarthritis, and heart disease

– e.g. Burden of disease associated with dementia in women is
estimated to double in next 20 years