What are the social determinants of health?

"Health is wealth", goes the common adage, but it is the health that is enduring much since time immemorial. Our health has always been vulnerable to countless diseases and discomfort, which have increased and intensified over time no doubt. However, the healthcare industry has also kept pace with the rapid progression of diseases and disorders and has successfully tackled them since forever.

With the onset of the internet and digitalization, the healthcare industry has largely changed for good. Now we have faster patient appointments, immediate check-ins, and intakes, advanced remote care facilities, improved detection methods, improved patient engagement strategies, paperless methods, accurate billing, flexible methods of payment, and more. All of which have directly influenced the healthcare system, thereby improving the quality, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare for the patients, upon which the health conditions of the masses depend.

Being healthy is relative, and most of us, are in fact, unhealthy, to be stated. According to a recently conducted survey, just 4.3% of people have been identified as free of health problems.

The health problems of today can range from minor spondylosis to heart disease or long Covid and chronic Covid syndrome, and all of us are indeed affected today. Regardless of whether it is a baby, a toddler, an adult, or an old person, everyone is a victim of one disease or another today. The health conditions of the general mass depend on a wide range of factors, which contribute to defining whether or not we are healthy. If you are now wondering about the determinants of health, then check out the next section.

What are the determinants of health?

Determinants can be defined as the determining factors. Now, as we have mentioned, human health is determined by a list of factors, which are ever-expanding with the passage of days. It is also important to conclude here that it is the determinants of health that ensure that we are healthy.

• The physical environment

• The social and economic environment

• The person's individual characteristics and behavior

All of these factors are remotely controlled by the patients. Therefore, it is wrong to argue against a person by saying that he/she is responsible for his/her illness. It is also true that most of the determinants of health are hardly related to the person and his medical condition. Yes, the social determinants of health play a huge part in identifying whether a person is fit or healthy. But what are the social determinants?

Knowing social determinants!

Yes, medical conditions definitely turn a person unhealthy. However, it is important to note here that the non-medical factors also contribute largely to the health outcomes of the people. These are often counted as social determinants.

The social determinants of health can be defined as the factors that are not directly related to the medicine/medical conditions but influence the health outcomes. Such determinants bring up the conditions in which people are born, live, work, and numerous other factors that play an important role in building the conditions of their daily life, and all of that are centrally responsible for defining a person's health. Social norms, economic policies, political and development agendas, and more are also counted among the social determinants of health (SDH).

The social determinants of health (SDH) also prove to be a major reason for health inequities, which can be defined as the unfair and unavoidable differences in health status that are identified inside a country or between two countries. Though the healthcare industry is growing with the help of improved levels of diagnosis and a wide set of medical office systems and software brought in by reputed medical office software solution providers like GrowPractice, the social determinants are something that also needs to be fast considered and redressed.

Examples of social determinants of health

Here's a list of the common social determinants of health:

Income

The income of the people has an important say in his/her health condition. Lifestyle depends on the money spent on it. So, a decent income is mandatory to eat healthily, stay in healthy and hygienic conditions and keep away from illnesses.

The costs of healthcare are increasing year on year, which happens to be a great concern for patients today. The US healthcare costs increased by over 9% in 2020, when compared to what it was in the previous year. This makes it difficult for people to access proper healthcare facilities for quality healthcare.

Protection in society

Societal protection is necessary for all. Here, if a person is always vulnerable to mental insults and physical injuries or receives either of them continually, then he/she is liable to become ill. A certain amount of protection in society is, therefore, required for everyone in order to stay physically healthy and mentally fit.

Social status

A whole number of things depend on a person's social status. For example, if he/she is a doctor, an engineer, or a celebrated actor, then that person is mentally secure and has funds enough to ensure his/her health is in perfect condition. Besides, if one enjoys a good social status, then he/she always remain satisfied, and out of worry on most occasions than one who happens to have a bad reputation in society.

Education

Our health condition greatly depends on the education we receive right from the start. Regardless of the board or the medium that we study in, education helps us stay aware of our health and hygiene and also the triggers of our mental and physical illnesses. All of these help us stay healthy and realize what is good for us and what is not to benefit us in the long run.

Physical conditions

The physical elements and conditions that surround us prove to be huge social determinants of health. The physical conditions include clean and safe air and water, safe houses, roads and transport, and more, where if anything goes wrong, it impacts our health directly.

Working life and conditions

Our working condition directly influences our health, thereby being obvious examples social of social determinants of health. Employment is irregular/uneven and unstable today because of the rise of competition, which is now fuelled by the pandemic outbreak, global recession, and more. All of these are making our working life and conditions from bad to worse. The lack of security in the jobs, bad working conditions, low payouts, and more, are increasing burnouts, and worsening the physical and mental health conditions of the employees if not sending them into perpetual depression.

The burnout rate in the healthcare industry went up to become 43% in the healthcare industry. The work-related burnouts in the medical sector were reported to be over 26% and pandemic-related burnouts were close to 52%.

Inclusion in the society

Societal inclusion is another social determinant of health. Social inclusion refers to how society sees a person and engages with him/her. This social inclusion proves to be a useful means of understanding how low income, poor health, housing, and food insecurity, negatively affect our health.

Job insecurity or unemployment

Job insecurity is piling up today. Unemployment is witnessed in each sector due to numerous factors. This has been ever so rising since the pandemic broke out globally in 2020. Reputed companies and startups are laying off their employees, and the employees are forever insecure.

Housing and basic amenities

A proper house to live in and basic amenities for sustenance are essential for everyone. A settled place to live in, surrounded by basic amenities, is something that empowers people and helps them stay away from mental and physical illnesses.

Gender

Gender plays an important role in determining the health of people. Many diseases specifically occur in the case of males while some other diseases are targeted toward their female counterparts. Here, it is important to understand what will affect you, and then proceed the right way accordingly.

Ancestry

Our health conditions depend on our forefathers. Yes, numerous diseases are passed through heredity, whcih travels from generation to generation. Even when it comes to dangerous and life-threatening diseases like sickle-cell anemia, Down's syndrome, cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, Marfan syndrome, and more, are passed over to the next generation of people.

Social support

Social support plays an active part in ensuring whether a person is healthy and fit. Considered among the social determinants of health, good social support to a person can help him/her stay active and healthy, thinking that he/she is valued. "Humans are social beings", which means that they ought to stay together, bonded in a society that values them.

A proper social engagement and support naturally help persons stay healthy, who, otherwise, can either be weak, sluggish, depressed, or disabled in case of feeble or non-existent support from society.

The social determinants of health are many and we have already been introduced to some of them that are most important for us to know. Now, our health is dependent on many other things too, a portion of which is summed up as structural determinants of health. Though some of them merge with the social determinants of health, it is also important to learn that they are also influenced by the social structure, thereby making them structural determinants of health. To name some of them are the economic and social policies, the governing process, payment or salaries, working conditions, housing, and education are some of the popularly mentioned structural determinants of health.

All of them need to be carefully considered, and analyzed and are to be encouraged or mitigated accordingly. However, in case you are finding it difficult to help the patients cope with their illnesses, then you can always consult expert doctors and practices, which are enabled with cutting-edge medical office software solutions to make the treatment process fast and effective. GrowPractice is one of those medical office solution providers that are bringing in change for medical offices and practices for good.

Here's what GrowPractice is bringing to the medical practices of today:

• Fast and easy online appointments with hassle-free rescheduling and cancelation options

• Effective patient feedback and reviewing facilities

• Negligible or no wait times

• The secure patient treatment process

• Effective integration with over 65 PM/EHR software

• Improved patient engagement with secure, HIPAA-compliant two-way texting

• Improved patient attraction and retention

These are some of the key highlights of GrowPractice, which offers numerous other facilities that help medical practices and healthcare organizations, stay at the top of their performance. By reducing the patient no shows by 89% and reducing the staff time on the phone by 75%, GrowPractice has already started revolutionizing patient practices. So, why don't you be equipped with the future-ready medical office systems, patient management, and practice management software and solutions and scale to the next level of growth?