HEALTH DETERMINANTS: An Intricate Web Created By: Barbara

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• HEALTH DETERMINANTS
• An Intricate Web
• Created By
• Barbara Carr-Harris
• Selena Sumal

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OVERVIEW

• As Canada's Health care system is making
  initiatives towards primary health care it is
  becoming more evident that the determinants of
  health play a vital role in nursing care. The
  health determinants go beyond looking at the
  health of an individual and encourages nurses to
  look at other aspects that affect a persons
  overall health and well-being . By incorporating
  the health determinants in nursing assessments,
  patients are receiving holistic care and are
  being directed towards personally appropriate
  resources within the community. The health
  determinants are a complex network or web of
  interchangeable variables that facilitate
  depiction of the health of an individual or a
  population. (Health Canada, 2003). Health Canada
  has identified the following indicators as key
  determinants of health
• Income and Social Status Social Support
  Networks
• Education and Literacy Employment/ Working
  Conditions
• Social Environments Physical Environments
• Healthy Child Development Personal Health
  Practices and Coping Skills
• Gender Culture

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THE INTRICATE WEB
Culture
Gender
Social support Networks
Income Social Status

Education Literacy
Health Services
Social Environments
Healthy Child Development
Employment Working Conditions
Biology Genetic Endowment
Personal Health Practices Coping Skills
Physical Environments
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INCOME SOCIAL STATUS

Income and social status are significantly linked
to quality of health. Those with more substantial
incomes have proportionately better and safer
living environments,access to higher education,
and control over their diet. Conversely, an
income deficiency means an increased struggle to
get ahead and make life goals and decisions as
basic needs are hard to attain (Health Canada,
2003). In fact, Only 47 of Canadians in the
lowest income bracket rate their health as very
good or excellent compared with 73 of Canadians
in the highest income group (Health Canada,
3). Therefore, families with a higher income have
more control over their lives and discretion in
problem-solving and decision-making.
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SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORKS

• Family, friends and other means of support are
  cornerstones for dealing with life stressors and
  provide a means of support. Infants, seniors and
  the range of developmental stages in-between,
  require varying amounts of support, depending on
  age and life circumstances. Meaningful
  relationships are emotionally fulfilling and
  ultimately help to combat health challenges. A
  meaningful relationship provides an increased
  sense of self worth and heightens stability,
  which further serves to deter health challenges
  (Health Canada, 2003).

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EDUCATION LITERACY

• Socioeconomic status is directly interlinked
  with education. Sufficient childhood education as
  well as continued life long learning initiatives
  for adults provide a sense of purpose. In
  addition, education is paramount to obtaining an
  adequate income and promotes problem-solving
  capabilities. This is particularly important when
  considering the public participation aspect of
  primary health care as access is directly
  proportional to the amount of education an
  individual or population possesses. According to
  Health Canada (2003), Canadians with low
  literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed,
  to suffer poor health and to die earlier than
  Canadians with high levels of literacy ( 5).

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EMPLOYMENT AND WORKING CONDITIONS

• It is said that those who have a feeling of
  control within their place of work tend to live
  more enriched, less stressful lives. Unemployed
  persons consequently lack a feeling of stability
  and often fear for their livelihood as the may
  not meet be capable of meeting the basic needs
  of survival. Work place environments can be
  potentially stressful, which affects the work
  being performed. Workplace stress can ultimately
  put a strain on family relationships due to the
  individuals compromised well-being (Health
  Canada, 2003).

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SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS

• It is important to the health of individuals to
  feel a sense of support from the community at
  large. Acts of sharing and giving within the
  surrounding and global community, help
  cohesiveness and stabilization of a communities
  existence. Furthermore, recognizing and
  appreciating diversity enables people of various
  backgrounds to feel a sense of belonging and
  support. Gestures such as volunteering, personal
  security, access to social support, participation
  in community organizations, and charitable
  donations help to bring a population together and
  enhance health (Health Canada, 1999).

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PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

• Elements such as healthy air quality, safety of
  drinking water, regulations on food, and
  composition of soil are all factors that are
  taken for granted but vital to the health and
  well-being of a population. Safe transportation
  and personal safety are also considerations with
  this determinant (Kaminski, 2004).

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PERSONAL HEALTH PRACTICES AND COPING SKILLS

• Health promoting techniques and self care
  strategies enhance an individuals ability to cope
  with life challenges. Examples of coping skills
  or mechanisms include spiritual, emotional and
  or physical efforts, or a combination of the
  three. These skills will ultimately improve a
  persons problem solving capabilities and their
  ability to manage stress (Health Canada, 2003).

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HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT

• A childs development is influenced greatly by
  their housing situation and neighborhood, family
  earnings and level of parental education,
  availability of nutritious foods and physical
  activity, genetic composition and access to
  medical and dental services (Health Canada,
  2003, 9). The early years of an individuals
  growth shapes the development of the brain,
  readiness for school, and determines health in
  later life. Ensuring that children are given
  opportunities to grow and learn from childhood
  experiences is vital to their cognitive and
  physical development.

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BIOLOGY AND GENETIC ENDOWMENT

• This determinant works to enhance cognitive
  functioning in children as well as seniors. Life
  long stimulation of the brain to embrace new
  ideas is vital to ensure constant development in
  this area. This further works to enhance the
  hardiness of a person which serves as a deterrent
  to health challenges (Health Canada, 2003).
  Genetic inheritance also has an impact on
  predisposing people to specific ailments such as
  certain diseases that affect cognitive
  functioning.

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HEALTH SERVICES

• It is paramount the a population has access to
  services which are health promoting as well as
  disease preventing in order to create a healthy
  functioning community. The principals of Primary
  Health Care accessibility intersectoral
  collaboration appropriate technology, health
  promotion, public participation are becoming more
  visible within Canadian health care environments.
  In relation to health care services, increased
  research is pivotal in order to maximize the
  provision of constantly changing health care
  demands (Health Canada, 1999).

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GENDER

• Gender determines societal roles, personal
  characteristics, ways of thinking and being,
  which are predetermined norms within any given
  society. There are many health related illness
  which relate to a gender biased society. Young
  men for example are more apt to commit suicide.
  Although women live longer than their male
  counterparts, women are more susceptible to
  depression as well as arthritis, which
  significantly decreases their quality of life.
  Gender issues also encompass hegemony and
  patriarchy which still exist within society, and
  how that governs the behaviors of some
  individuals in various communities (Health
  Canada, 2003).

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CULTURE

• Marginalization is a significant challenge for
  anyone who is outside of what is perceived to be
  the dominant culture. This can be detrimental to
  the future existence of various cultures as
  cultural norms and even languages can be lost due
  to stigmatization. It is important to consider
  each aspect of a culture in order to care for an
  individual or a population in the most
  appropriate way (Health Canada, 2003).

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CONCLUSION

• It is fundamental for all members of the health
  care sector to adopt a solid understanding of the
  elements that determine health in order to
  provide holistic care. The authors designed an
  intricate web to enhance the facilitation of
  comprehending the health determinants. The web
  both depicts and symbolizes the
  interconnectedness of these fundamental elements
  and reveals that a damaged area in the web has
  lasting consequences on all other areas of life.

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REFERENCES
Health Canada. (2003). The health determinants
Population health promotion model. Retrieved
January 21, 2004 from http//www.hc
sc.gc.ca/hppb/ phdd/determinants/index.html
Health Canada. (1999). The socioeconomic
environment towards a healthy future. Retrieved
January 23, 2004 from http//www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/
phdd/pdf/ toward/chapter_2.PDF Kaminski, J.
(2004). Learning Activity 7 Social determinants
of health. Retrieved January 18, 2004 from
http//virtualcurriculum.com/N4210/N4210lact 7g.h
tml