Read the texts to learn more about what factors determine your health. Did you know about them?

Dorota Giżyńska Social Determinants Of Health

A.

The WHO defines social determinantsdeterminants [determinant]determinants of health (SDOH) in the following way: the conditions in which we are born, grow up, play, work, and get older. They include a wide arraywide arraywide array of factors which exist in different societies. SDOH are further influenced by different factors such as money, power, and varied resources on different levels: global, national, and local. It’s said that the SDOH act as a determining factor, even up to 80‑90%, on people’s health while only 10‑20% is attributed tois attributed to [be attributed to]is attributed to medical care itself.  There are five key areas of SDOH.

B.

Children from low‑income families, youngsters with disabilities, and kids who regularly experience types of social discrimination, e.g. bullying, are bound toare bound to [be bound to]are bound to struggle with school subjects like maths and reading. As a result, they're less likely to graduate from secondary school and continue tertiary educationtertiary educationtertiary education. This, in turn, means they're less inclined toinclined toinclined to get lucrativelucrativelucrative positions and more likely to have medical issues like coronary diseases , diabetes, or depression. Moreover, there are many young people all around the world where the level of schooling is inadequateinadequate inadequate or their families can't afford to pay for their education. Poor living conditions can also play a detrimental roleplay a detrimental rolea detrimental role in children’s brain development, making it harder for them to perform well in school.

C.

People with regular incomes and steady jobs don’t run the risk ofrun the risk of run the risk of living in poor conditions and thereforeand thereforeand therefore, are more likely to be healthy. If people suffer from any disabilities which prevent them from earning money, they may be at risk ofbe at riskbe at risk of losing financial security. This may lead to a vicious circlevicious circlevicious circle of not being able to support the basic needs of a family. What is more, a lot of people, despite having a regular income, are not able to provide for their familiesprovide for their families [provide for one’s family]provide for their families, which is vitalvitalvital for people’s lives like paying for education or medical insurance. 

D.

A lot of people around the world don’t have any medical insurance, so they’re not entitled toentitled toentitled to medical care services, from basic ones like a family doctor, to specialist medication or surgeries. It means that they don’t have access to any preventive healthcare like vaccinations, screenings, or chronic illness treatment. OftentimesoftentimesOftentimes, their primary care providerprimary care providerprimary care provider lives too far away. Health literacyhealth literacyHealth literacy also plays an important role here. It’s people's capacitycapacitycapacity to get access to, process, and understand health information and make conscious choices based on it.

E.

You may not have thought about it, but the conditions in which we live have a major impact on our health. Many people around the globe live in districts with high levels of crime and violence. As a consequenceas a consequenceAs a consequence, the inhabitants are more prone toprone toprone to accidents and domestic abusedomestic abusedomestic abuse. OvercrowdingovercrowdingOvercrowding and dampdampdamp living conditions are also part of the problem, as well as access to running water, a thing we tend to take for grantedtake for grantedtake for granted. Access to public transportation, more bike paths, and safe walking areas or pavements is not always available either.

F.

The way we interact withinteract withinteract with people can dramatically influencedramatically influences [dramatically influence]dramatically influence our health and well‑being. This concernsconcerns [concern] (verb)concerns our family, co‑workers, and friends. Children’s development is highly affected when their parents are incarceratedincarceratedincarcerated, or absent for other reasons. This negative experience may continue into adulthood. Some children and teenagers don’t know where to get support if they are in crisis. It may lead to anxiety and depression, resulting in problems at school and later at work. Bullying and peer pressure are also among the factors which negatively influence our future relationships with people.

1 Źródło: Dorota Giżyńska, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.