NR 553 Week 1 Discussion, Commission on Social Determinants of Health

Commission on Social Determinants of Health NAME Chamberlain College of Nursing NR553: Global Health DATE Bell, Taylor, and Marmot (2010) stated that the Commission on Social Determinants of Health was to move global health from a biomedical model to a social model. Describe the focus of the Commission on Social Determinants and discuss how the Commission’s focus will impact policy related to global health. Week 1: Commission on Social Determinants of Health According to the World Health Organization (WHO,2018), the Commission on Social Determinants of Health was established in March 2005, with its primary objective being to support countries and global health stakeholders in addressing social issues that lead to illnesses and health inequities. Some of the areas it focused on, included assisting some countries in the development of policies towards enhancing health through eliminating inequities and social factors that lead to ill health. It also encouraged the collaboration of nations in addressing similar challenges as well as facilitated partnership and advocacy across countries regionally and globally on social determinants of health. The commission also focused on inclusion of the civil society groups such as charities, women groups, community groups, and development organizations among others in enhancing health policies. It asserted that the civil society provides a forum for the marginalized to participate in policy decision making. It thus facilitates the provision of adequate health solutions and reducing inequities as the challenges the disadvantages face are well understood (WHO, 2018). It also focused on knowledge networks which refer to evidence which is essential in addressing the social challenges. The evidence includes on how occupation or unemployment affects people’s health. Besides, it delved into the processes that lead to social exclusion of particular groups. It also explored factors in public health that increase access for the economically and socially disadvantaged groups as well as mechanisms that may reduce gender inequalities in health. The impact of early child development, globalization, health systems, urbanization as well as measurement and evidence methodologies were also other evidence-based areas it focused on (WHO, 2018). de Andrade et al. (2015) state there are numerous related determinants of health and diseases such as economic status, social status, education, housing, employment, and environment. The commission's focus will significantly enhance policy related to global health development through the development of policies that meets the needs of the disadvantaged groups as there would be reliable evidence on the best actions. It would lead to the improved living condition. It would also mitigate inequitable distribution of resources of resources as there is a better understanding of inequities. Besides, the impact of the developed policies would be easily assessed (Marmot & Allen, 2014). References de Andrade, L. O. M., Pellegrini Filho, A., Solar, O., Rígoli, F., de Salazar, L. M., Serrate, P. C. F., & Atun, R. (2015). Social determinants of health, universal health coverage, and sustainable development: case studies from Latin American countries. The Lancet, 385(9975), . Marmot, M., & Allen, J. J. (2014). Social determinants of health equity. American journal of public health, 104(4) pp. S517-S519.DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014. WHO. (2018). Social determinants of health. World Health Organization. Retrieved from, RESPONSE TO PEER: Health resources are seen as beginning in the home, neighborhoods, communities, and schools. Safety in the workplace, and the environment including the home are considered important physical areas for promoting good health for everyone. Living conditions can vary and can result in different health conditions of people. The Healthy People 2020 initiative promotes good health for all people by providing healthy social and physical environments Linda, After reading your post it is my understanding that health is determined in part by access to social and economic opportunities; the resources and supports available in neighborhoods, and communities; the quality of schooling; the safety of workplaces; the cleanliness of water, food, and air; and the nature of social interactions and relationships. Social determinants of health are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes. Addressing social determinants of health is a primary approach to achieving health equity. Social determinants of health such as poverty, unequal access to health care, lack of education, stigma, and racism are underlying, contributing factors of health inequities (KU Center for Community Health and Development, 2018). Health inequities are “avoidable inequalities in health between groups of people within countries and between countries” (World Health Organization, 2010). Health inequities are undoubtedly one of the most relevant problems in the field of population health and they represent a challenge to those who seek to overcome them. Health inequity may be more appropriately addressed in some settings through a universal approach to improve health without stigmatizing targeted groups. Programs must be planned so that individuals living in disadvantaged circumstances or from disadvantaged backgrounds are not missed and are the focus of intensive intervention within universal frameworks. Reference KU Center for Community Health and Development. (2018). Community toolbox. Addressing social determinants of health in your community. Retrieved from World Health Organization. (2010). Backgrounder 3: Key concepts. Retrieved from RESPONSE TO PEER: Amy and Linda, I was intrigued by both your post on how sexual and reproductive health is a social determinant. It's interesting to research how women living in low- and middle-income countries experience higher levels of morbidity and mortality attributed to sexual and reproductive health than do women living in wealthier countries. The likelihood of a woman dying from an unsafe abortion is almost exclusively dependent on where she lives, with almost all mortality attributable to unsafe abortion occurring in developing countries (The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2007). The risk of dying from an unsafe abortion is exceptionally high in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports, “a woman living in sub-Saharan Africa is 15 times more likely to die from an unsafe abortion compared to a woman living in Latin America, and 75 times more likely than is a woman living in a developed country” (2010). I also learned that abortion policies have been applied to control population growth (in China) and to halt population decline (in Romania under the communist ruler Ceausescu). While researching and reading, I’m coming to understand that some of the common challenges include harmful traditional practices, affordability, quality of care, and service-provider attitudes. An intervention to reduce barriers to accessing safe abortions within a very restrictive regulatory context was established in Kenya with private physicians’ abortion network. In Kenya, private physicians who practice medicine were trained in the post-abortion care and equipped with manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) kits (WHO, 2010). Private physicians in Kenya that practiced abortion were also required to renovate their facilities to offer sufficient privacy and a wide choice of contraceptive methods and would only charge a minimal consultation fee and would give free services to very needy clients (WHO, 2010). On-site training for nurses or aides was required to assist physicians in record-keeping and equipment maintenance. Within the first year of the intervention being implemented, 35 trained private physicians safely assisted 675 women who had abortion complications or ‘menstrual irregularities’(WHO, 2010). Sexual and reproductive health is an important part of our physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being throughout our lives. Advocates and practitioners of sexual and reproductive health must engage in discussions to ensure that sexual and reproductive health and its determinants are considered in the development of conceptual models, development of interventions, and measurement of achievement. Reference The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (2007). Sharing responsibility: women, society and abortion worldwide. New York: The Alan Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved from World Health Organization. (2010). Social determinants of sexual and reproductive health. Informing future research and programme implementation. Retrieved from