Determinants of Health Essay
Determinants of Health (DOH) Essay
This paper is about understanding health and how to improve health. The conditions or experiences in which we live our lives, affect our health. These conditions, also known as Social Determinants of Health (DOH), are more important than medical treatments or lifestyle choices in shaping our health. For example, how long we will live, whether or not we will develop chronic diseases, or how we raise our children. It is important for the nurse to understand the health of an individual in a broad way and in the context of these social determinants. Nurses provide interventions to help improve a patient’s DOH, thus aiding in improving their health.
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Synopsis: Provide an overview of the health of a selected family from the Canadian Neighbourhood, identify and explain how 3 DOH are negatively affecting the family, and identify and explain how 2 areas of health promotion would benefit the family Determinants of Health Essay
Maximum Length: 4 pages, excluding title page and reference page.
Submission: SafeAssign AND hardcopy to professor beginning of class on the due date.
**Essays not meeting this requirement will have late penalties applied
References: minimum six references.
Kozier textbook can be one. The others should include: another text or journal of your choice or a reputable web based site. All need to be cited properly
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Purpose:
Develop and demonstrate an understanding of determinants of health and the impact on a chosen family’s health status.
Demonstrate knowledge of basic health promotion concepts.
Demonstrate effective written communication skills.
Instructions:
Choose a family from Canadian neighborhood.
Briefly describe the family.
Discuss three DOH’s relevant to the family.
Provide a brief overview (definition, statistics, explanation) of the DOH.
Use specific examples from Canadian Neighborhood to prove why these are relevant DOH.
Identify 2 specific health promotion topics that are relevant for the family.
Include why you chose your specific topics of health promotion relating it to one or more of the identified DOH Determinants of Health Essay
APA format must be used for your essay. APA is a structured and specific format for an academic paper. It provides detailed information on font size, set up of the paper, how to reference and cite your information.
Tips to Get You Started:
Start Early!!!
Read the Instructions and rubric very carefully and follow it closely. Look at the grade distribution. Areas with more points should have more depth of discussion.
Become familiar with APA format. Resources to assist you include:
Seneca Library (in person or through mySeneca)
APA booklet available in the King Bookstore Determinants of Health Essay
english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ for examples.
Brainstorm and Organize your thoughts before you start – Create an outline or overview of what you plan to write.
DOH – write down some that are relevant to the family you have chosen and write down supporting factors as to why they are relevant to the family.
Health Promotion – Assume you are the nurse involved with this family, what interventions could improve the families being impacted by chosen DOH’s. Why did you choose this information? Write this on your rough outline.
Begin writing each paragraph. Make sure your ideas are clear; avoid extra words or sentences, clearly state your idea based on what your outline. Determinants of Health Essay.
Your paper includes an:
Introduction – purpose of your paper and an overview of what will be discussed
Body – where you discuss
Conclusion – briefly summarizes what your paper discussed and your overall conclusion.
Your essay must have a title page (first page) and a references page (last page).
***It is important that you follow the APA format guidelines on how to complete both of these.
Get help Early – If you have not written a formal essay paper recently, it is strongly suggested that you go to the Learning Centre and/or the Library for support. You will write many papers throughout the PND program, therefore you should learn proper essay writing skills early.
In text referencing is expected as part of an academic paper. Ensure you review this in APA Guidelines If you are referring to an idea, or using a direct quote from a source, you must give credit by providing an in text citation. All in text citations must be included in your reference list.
Editing: Read your paper out loud, this can help with the flow of the paper. Ask someone to read your paper and provide feedback, based on the rubric. DO NOT allow anyone to just change your essay!! You need to approve all editing choices. Determinants of Health Essay.
Essay Rubric
Concepts
Points Possible
Your Score/Comments
Content (30 points)
Discuss at least three DOH’s that are relevant to the family. Provide a brief overview (definition, statistics, explanation) of the DOH.
/6
Use specific examples from Canadian Neighborhood to prove why these are relevant DOH. .
/14
Identify 2 specific health promotion topics that are relevant for the family.
/2
Include why you chose your specific topics of health promotion relating it to one or more of the identified DOH
/8
Format (10points)
Choice of References
/4
Use and format of references
/6
Marks will be subtracted for :
Grammatical errors
Incorrect APA format; title & reference page)
Sentence structure
–
(max 5)
General Comments: Determinants of Health Essay
Professor Signature: Grade: /40 %
Determinants of Health
Introduction
There are many cases of health inequalities among people in different states in the world due to uneven distribution of the resources, which are required in order to acquire the standard health services and products necessary if we may say so. These resources are called the determinants of health and they range from social, personal, environmental, and economic factors. In Canada, we have such cases of disparities between neighborhoods- we have families with very improved healthy lives and on the other far end; we have families who cannot even be able to have access to the basic needs. This gap between the Canadians can only be reduced or even be totally depleted by dealing with the major social factors which affect health. In this paper, we are going to discuss Mrs. James family and the respective determinants of health (DOH) affecting Mrs. James’ health. Majorly, the social DOH affecting her health status are the social-economic factors, cultural factors, and biological and genetic factors.
A Brief Description Of Mrs. James Family
From the reports, this family faces health problems, including Mrs. James frequently being attacked by unhealthy conditions. She is reported to have an ankle sore which seemed not to heal, but grew worse until it was attended. This is as a result of diabetes, which she keeps on controlling. Also, she is distressed by the death of her cat and that distress causes a lot of harm to her health. The following day, she wakes up seriously sick. She feels numb on her right arm and leg and finds it hard to stand. Finally, she is diagnosed with a stroke, which was affecting her right arm and leg. The stroke affects her so much that, she is unable to stand on her own and even finds it difficult to put anything in her mouth. That forces the nurses to use the feeding tube to avoid dangers of chocking. Mrs. James has a son, but he resides far from her. When she was in the hospital, she almost lost motivation of life, thinking that all her cats would have died due to her absence, but her son had taken care of them and this really contributed to her recovery. Moreover, the visit from Karen motivated her so much Determinants of Health Essay
Social Determinants Of Healthy Relevant To Mrs. James Family
Cultural Factors
In Canada, there are many distinct cultures with different cultural values which affect people’s health status in different ways. Values such as marginalization, assessment of health services, and stigmatization activities among communities are said to be obstacles of their health status. In addition, there are cultures, which are against certain types of foods or recommend some, which affect their health. For instance, in most communities located in the desert areas, obesity is never seen as a health threat and instead people take it as a sign of good health. Consequently, there are societies which associate junk food with richness without considering its effects on their overall health status (Raphael, 2004). Determinants of Health Essay
Social-Economic Factors
As mentioned above in the case of Mrs. James family in Canada, there are three main DOH associated with their family health and in this section, we will discuss the social-economic factors. Actually, in the present world, the social-economic factors are the most prominent determinants of people’s health status. The data available in different health-related organizations show that individuals who are socially and economically stable have access to good health. The determinants in this class of factors include; employment, personal health practices, quality of working conditions, physical environment, social connectedness, and level of education. Determinants of Health Essay
Biological And Genetic Factors
The biological and genetic factors such as inherited conditions, HIV status, sex, gene composition of parents, age, and the existence of heart diseases in the family history affects people’s health status in different ways. For example, in terms of the age, old people’s health gets affected easily as compared to adolescents when exposed to the same conditions. This is biological since the aging contributes to cognitive and physical effects. Also, the genetically transferred conditions such as sickle cell anemia affects the health of an individual negatively (Raphael, 2004). Determinants of Health Essay
The Relevance Of The Above Discussed DOH To Mrs. James Family In Canada
Mrs. James family is seriously affected by the social-economic factors discussed above. When she had a wound, she would not easily acknowledge that she needed to visit a doctor. Due to her low-income status, the cashier tells her to use an alternative method- butter, which would not cost her much. At the same time when she is seriously sick, she is reluctant to call an ambulance because of the associated costs. In addition, her low-income status is evident from the shoes she wore and her excitement about the free lunch at the Senior Centre nursing clinic (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006).
Social Connectedness: Mrs. James to some extent is affected by the social connectedness factor. She lives alone despite having a son and grandchildren. This to some extent affects her health. When in the hospital, she almost loses motivation on improving her health, since there is no one to take care of her cats. What’s more, when she is critically sick, it almost gets hard to access medical services due to lack of a family member or a relative to take her to the hospital. Moreover, the physical environment in her home is not health conducive, as the surrounding bushes are associated unhealthy practices. Determinants of Health Essay.
The Biological And Genetic Factors also do affect Mrs. James’ health. The diabetes she is suffering from is linked to the family history. Consequently, biologically, aged people are prone to diseases due to cognitive and physical effects of aging. Thus, Mrs. James’ wound takes time to heal mostly due to her age. Therefore, at her age, she requires a serious medical attention.
Health Promotion Topics
Mrs. James is affected by different social-economic activities and as nurses, we have a duty to make sure that her health improves. We could advise her to stay with her son so that he can be looking after her, and get her to the hospital whenever she is sick. On the issue of using cigarettes, we could explain to her the various health dangers associated with smoking and walk with her on the journey to smoking recovery. Also, as a nurse, I would teach her about different health challenges that aged people are facing, and advise her on how to live in order to overcome those challenges. For instance, due to cognitive and physical effects that older people face, they are supposed to get medical attention immediately, they feel unwell. Determinants of Health Essay.
Lack of basic education is also among the big problems that Mrs. James family is facing. Therefore, the nurses are required to prepare and try their best to make sure that they grasp the basic hygiene and health practices, which aged people, deserve. For instance, Mrs. James’ son can be made aware that aged persons are more susceptible to diseases and may not be able to fight them, thus require close and regular checks. In addition, that conditions such as diabetes attacks do happen anytime and therefore people, who are diabetic, require special attention and should never be left alone.
Conclusion
In a recap, it is evident from the above discussion above that our streets and neighborhoods in Canada are coupled with many health inequalities. Actually, the factors which are contributing to the situation are levels of education, employment, biological and genetic, physical environment, and others, which we can alleviate. Therefore, if we work together with the assistance of experts like nurses, we can make the world a better place. For instance, if Brian had taken care of her mother right from the beginning with the assistance of the nurses, her mother would not have been affected by the stroke and other observable health conditions. Determinants of Health Essay.
References
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (2002). Homeless in Canada. Toronto ON: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Hay, D. I., & Canadian Policy Research Networks. (2007). Developing a Canadian economic case for financing the social determinants of health. Ottawa, Ont: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
In Marmot, M., & In Wilkinson, R. G. (2006). Social determinants of health.
Peressini, T. L., Hulchanski, J. D., McDonald, L., & Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. (2001). Estimating homelessness: Towards a methodology for counting the homeless in Canada : background report. Ottawa: The Division.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2006). Sexually transmitted infections in Canadian street youth in Canada: Findings from Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth, 1999-2003. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada. Determinants of Health Essay.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2006). Street youth in Canada: Findings from Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth, 1999-2003. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada.
Raphael, D. (2004). Social determinants of health: Canadian perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
World Health Organization. (2013). The economics of social determinants of health and health inequalities: A resource book.
WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health., & World Health Organization. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health : Commission on Social Determinants of Health final report. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Determinants of Health Essay.
