The Socio-Environmental Model of Health and SDOH Flashcards
What is the definition of health according to WHO?
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
What are the two different discourses of health?
1) Biomedical model
2) Socio-environmental model
Describe the biomedical model of health (i.e, definition of health, the focus of the biomeidcal model, perspective)
- Defines health as the absence of illness/disease/impairment
- Health conceptualized as an individual condition or state
- Each person systematically located as the primary agent for illness prevention »‘lifestyle choices’
- Focus on the physical body
- Biomedicine responsible for providing a ‘cure’
- Contention that timely access to biomedical care leads to improved health status for individuals
Describe the socio-environmental model (i.e. perspectives, definition of health, the focus)
- Centralizes the dynamic relationship between people and their environment in discussions of health
- Contends that creating healthy populations depends on the organization of material conditions in everyday life including access to adequate food, safe water, shelter, safety and hope
- Demystifies belief that Canada provides equal opportunity for education, employment, healthcare and social welfare to all citizens (myth of meritocracy)
- Recognizes that positions of privilege and marginalization exist within Canadian society and are socially/politically/culturally (re)produced
- Highlights structural and institutionalized barriers which limit an individual’s access to resources which will potentially improve their social conditions and improve their health
- Racist hiring practices, lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable post-secondary education, absence of a national daycare program, language barriers, inaccessible workplaces and transportation, lack of job-sharing opportunities
- Racism, sexism, homophobia/heterosexism, transphobia, ableism
What makes Canadians sick?
50% Your life (ex. income, education, race, gender)
25% Your healthcare (ex. access to healthcare, wait times)
15% Your biology (ex. genetics)
10% Your environment (air quality, civic infrastructure)
Name as many of the social determinants of health as you can (at least five)
- Disability
- Gender
- Race
- Social inclusion
- Early childhood development
- Social Supports
- Food Security
- Housing
- Education
- Employment & Working Conditions
- Income
- Social Support(s)
- Health Services
- Spirituality
- Culture
What are some of the impacts that income as a health determinant can have?
Income level affects: –quality of living conditions • quality and stability of housing • ability to purchase sufficient healthy food • availability of social supports –performance in school –access to recreational opportunities –access to post-secondary education/training opportunities –access to leisure opportunities
List some facts about poverty in Ontario for the general population
- Nearly 1 in 7 families with children live in poverty
- 1 in 5 racialized families live in poverty
- 30.8% of lone-parent families live in poverty
- Cis-women-led lone-parent families enter the emergency shelter system at twice the rate of their cis-male-led counterparts
List some facts about poverty in Ontario in regards to indigenous people
- 50% of Indigenous children living on reservations in Ontario live in poverty
- 30% of Indigenous children living in urban centers in Ontario live in poverty
List some facts about poverty in Ontario in regards to individuals with disabilities
- People with disabilities are twice as likely to live below the poverty line
- 70% of people with disabilities who are employed earn an income of less than $40,000/yr
List some facts about poverty in Ontario in regards to racialized women
- Racialized women living in poverty are almost twice as likely to work in manufacturing jobs than non-racialized women living in poverty.
- Racialized women earn 32% less at work than their non-racialized counterparts
List a fact about poverty in Ontario in regards to seniors
Nearly 15% of elderly single individuals live in poverty
How does “Ontario Works” social assistance program work?
- Provides financial resources to those whose personal resources have been exhausted and who require assistance to cover the cost of their basic needs
- Must participate in employment assistance activities
- Single person with no dependents can receive a maximum of: $343 basic needs + $390 shelter needs
How does “Ontario Disability Support Program” social assistance program work? What is the eligibility criteria?
Eligibility Criteria:
• Be at least 18yrs of age
• Be a resident of Ontario
• Be in financial need
• Meet the program’s definition of a person with a disability:
–you have a substantial mental or physical impairment that is continuous or recurrent, and is expected to last one year or more and
–your impairment directly results in a substantial restriction in your ability to work, care for yourself, or take part in community life and
–your impairment, its duration and restrictions have been verified by an approved health care professional
• Single person with no dependents can receive a maximum of: $672 Basic needs + $497 shelter allowance
Define food security
• “Food security is the state that exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”
