Determinants of Health

 health it's the state of complete

physical mental and social well-being

not just the absence of disease or

infirmity and good health is something

we strive to achieve not just

individually but also as a community but

if we look around us our family friends

and others we know that health is very

variable for example in 2016 the life

expectancy of a child born in Sierra

Leone was 53 years while in Australia it

was 83 years but even within Australia

the life expectancy of indigenous people

is about 10 years lower than that of

non-indigenous people and even within a

specific group of people health can

change based on a person's income level

of education or occupation so why is

health so variable to answer that

question we must understand the factors

that influence health the factors that

influence a person's health are called

determinants of health

these include who they are such as age

sex and genetic makeup and what they do

as in health behaviors such as smoking

physical activity alcohol use and diet

health is also largely influenced by the

conditions in which people are born grow

live work and age collectively called

the social determinants of health the

social determinants of health are shaped

by the distribution of money power and

resources and an international national

and local level these can lead to health

inequities which is the difference in

health between different groups of

people that is unfair and avoidable

let's take a look at the social

determinants of health using a framework

developed by the World Health

Organization according to this framework

there are two broad groups of health

determinants structural and intermediary

structural determinants are the

socio-economic and political context

that people live in it includes

governance economic social and public

policies and also the social and culture

values placed on health issues these

factors can lead to the unequal

distribution of material and monetary

resources which can shape a person's

socio-economic position socio-economic

position is characterized by education

occupation income gender race or

ethnicity and social class the

structural determinants of health

operate through a set of intermediary

determinants that impact a person's

exposure vulnerability and outcomes to

factors affecting their health

these include material circumstances

such as the quality of housing the

financial means to buy healthy food

clothing or other requirements for

healthy living and work environments

psychosocial factors like stressful

living circumstances relationships and

social support behavioral and biological

factors in addition to these health

systems determine the type of health

care the quality of it and how easily

accessible it is bridging the structural

and intermediary determinants our social

cohesion and social capital the links

between all these determinants are not

always linear but can be complex

interdependent and interact in many

different ways to influence health for

example or income can limit

opportunities for achieving good health

and conversely poor health can limit

opportunities for people to participate

in the workforce and remember these

determinants can act across the course

of a person's life so the next time you

think about a health issue consider not

only who they are and what they do but

also the conditions in which they are

born grow live work and age because if

we understand and act on them we can

build a healthier world for everyone

you