Social Determinants of Health Flashcards
Define and list the social determinant of health (8 of them)
The general aspects of one’s living conditions that can affect health.
People, lifestyle, community, local economy, activities, built environment, natural environment, global ecosystem.
Health promotion
Promoting individual health through campaigns
Health field concept and its 4 aspects
Addressing the social factors beyond individual control that affect health. Outlines human biology, environment, lifestyle and health care.
Health care organization
Nature of health care system
The Lalonde Report
Created in 1981 and introduced the health fireld concept
Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
Created in 1986 and defined health promotion. Outline the prerequisites of health
The Epp Report
Late 1980s. Supported to Ottawa Charter and included 3 mechanisms for health promotion: self-care, mutual aid and health environments
Action Statement for Health Promotion in Canada
Created in 1996 during the time that population health was introduced
Population Health
Approach to health that focuses on the health of the general population and the social determinants that affect it
What are the criticisms against population health?
Promoites epidemiology and empirical approaches, theoretical and political, neglects unique situations within the population and doesn’t allow for much community involvement
Biomedical approach
Belief that illnesses are causes by biological/physiological factors. Health can be obtained through medicine and other biological treatments.
Behavioural approach
Belief that illnesses are causes by one’s actions. Health can be obtained by changing one’s behaviours.
Social-environmental model
Observes how social structures affect one’s health and behaviours
Downstream vs upstream approach
Downstream = trying to help patient when they’ve already gotten sick
Upstream = resolving/reducing issues that could make someone sick
What is the biggest contributor to health issues?
Income inequalities
Material deprivation
Not having access to basic necessities to meet a certain standard of living
Psycho-social stress
Stress due to one’s social status
What is the correlation between a country’s income inequality and life expectancy?
Negative correlation: Countries with higher income inequalities have lower life expectancies
Why does mortality increase when income inequality increases?
The rich and the poor spend on different things, which leads to a lack of social services that are accessible to almost everyone (e.g. education and health care)
Social capital
The strenght of a society’s social structures and interactions
Neo-materialist approach
Observes how the distribution of wealth and resources deterimines the population’s health
Welfare states
How much gov provides social and health services to citizens
Social democratic
Firm commitment to redistributive policies and has lowest income inequality
Christian democratic
Low support for redistributive policies and has a sort-of high level of income inequality. Includes other social support for elderly and universal health care coverage.
Liberalism
Low support for redistributive policies and income inequality is higher. Social services are weaker and limited.
Conservative/fascist
Welfare states aren’t supported and has the greatest level of income inequality
How do neighbourhoods affect health?
Services in that neighbourhood, location compared to health care facilities, and its design
How do cars affect health?
Don’t get enough exercise, contributes to air pollution, increases accidents and allows people to live far away from each other, reducing social cohesion
What factors contirbute to eating behaviours?
Social (families, friends, peers)
Physical (availability of food and quantity of it)
Economic (foods that are marketed)
Knowledge-attitudes-behaviour prevention
Changing one’s knowledge will change their attitudes and therefore change behaviours
Ecological models
Focuses on ecology of health behaviours
Explain the “people and places” framework
- Divided into people and places
- People aspect focuses on social capital, social cohesion and collective efficacy
- People aspect includes individuals, social networks and populations/communities
- Place aspect focuses on availability of products and services, physical and social structures,and messages of the media and culture
- Place aspect includes local (immediate) and distal (broad) environments
Health promotion vs population health
Population health focuses on wealth to increase health rather than changing structural factors.
Population health doesn’t address the politics and economic factors that influence health.
Population health thinks that funding in health care should be redistributed in other government funds to strengthen the economy rather than using funds to help individuals.
Epidemology
The study of states of health by lookking at its distribution and determinants
What are the three levels of cause? Define them and provide an example.
Distal: Societal aspects that influence health (e.g. government policies)
Intermediate: Community-related aspects that influence health (e.g. school and peers)
Proximal: Individual influences and behaviours that affect health. (e.g. hygiene)
