Question:

You can choose a social determinant of health (SDH), from the list that has been presented in this unit.

Choose a population from another culture than yours that is more susceptible to, or less likely to, health problems because of this social determinant (e.g.

India’s lower caste families, Indian families living below poverty line, Western countries such as Australia/UK/USA young women, Afghan children, Syrian refugees, persecuted minorities in the West, Okinawa Japan elderly population,

What is a social factor that affects health? Use your own words.

Name the selected population and the social determinant.

Analyze the effects of your chosen social determinant of health upon the selected population using evidence drawn from the literature.

Discuss how to reduce the adverse health effects associated with the SDH you have chosen.

Answer to Question: NUR329 Public Health

Introduction

This essay examines the most important health determinant affecting health within a particular population.

A reorganization of the most important factors that impact health is necessary to reduce health inequalities and improve people’s overall health.

Social determinants of health include the societal, economic, and cultural factors and how they are distributed among the population. These influences can influence the variations in health status at individual and local levels (Pacquiao 2016,).

Health inequalities are due to health disparities.

These are factors that influence the lifestyle and employment of an individual as well as individual risk elements (Rubin (2016)).

Social policies can shape the societal determinants for wellbeing according to the World Health Organization.

Degraded politics, economic inequalities and poor social policies are all contributing factors to the uneven distribution of health-declining outcomes.

Social gradients, poverty, social exclusion and education are the most important determinants.

These social determinants affect health outcomes and are closely tied to social policies.

These social determinants of your health are likely to be associated. For instance, those living below the poverty line or those suffering from social discrimination may also experience other negative social determinants.

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands (ATSI) have the lowest health status.

The ATSI population of Australia, which represents three percent of Australia’s total population, was 669,000.

Poor health is caused by the ATSI population’s social discrimination.

This essay will focus on the relationship between social discrimination and health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait-Islanders and ways to reduce this disparity.

According to Kelaher, Ferdinand, and paradies (2014), discrimination is associated with poor physical and mental wellbeing.

There are many factors that can lead to discrimination and poor health.

A strong association has been found between negative health outcomes, mental disorders, anxiety, and risky behavior such as substance abuse, according to longitudinal and cross-sectional studies that have been conducted at the national and international levels (Truong, Paradies and Priest, 2014).

Experiencing social discrimination regularly can cause extreme stress levels, which can be a source of chronic inflammations, obesity, and other disorders (Egger (2014)).

A review of the 2012 to 2013, Health Surveys found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands with extreme to severe psychosomatic suffering were 1.5 times more likely have kidney disease and 1.3 times to suffer from circulatory ailments.

The Health Survey of 2012-2013 revealed that 16 percent of ATSI Australians claimed that they were treated poorly because they are Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.

Further investigations showed that ATSI people have self-reported experiences of social discrimination ranging from sixteen to ninety percent reliant upon the traits of discrimination.

A study of 755 Aboriginal Victorians showed that nearly 97% of participants had experienced at the least one instance racism in the twelve previous months. Only 35% experienced a resist incident within the prior month (Ferdinand. Paradies. & Kelaher., 2013).

Beyondblue (2018) conducted a current inspection to get insight into the racial perspectives and approaches of non Indigenous Australians (aged between 25-44 years) about Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders in Australia.

This survey found that there was a lack of empathy for discriminatory behavior. It also revealed the widespread acceptance that occupational discrimination is an unconscious act by the offender.

This survey found that forty percent of respondents avoid Indigenous Australians when they travel by public transports. Another 38 percent are able to see other people and watch verbal abuses of ATSI individuals.

Nearly one third (thirty-1 percent) of nonindigenous Australians saw employment discrimination against Indigenous Australians. Nine% confessed to having been involved in discrimination.

One in four (twenty fifth percent) of the population isn’t convinced that social discrimination has a detrimental effect on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.

Over half (56 percent) of Australians do not believe that being Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander is a barrier to success.

Many Australians aren’t aware that it is okay to discriminate against Indigenous people. Twenty-one per cent said they would not sit next to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, and twenty one percent said they would monitor the activities or Torres Strait Islanders at their shops.

Ferdinand et.

The 2013 study of Ferdinand et. al.

This survey also found that around 29 percent of respondents suffered discrimination in healthcare settings. It was reported that forty-two per cent of employees, thirty-five per cent of residents, and seventy-seven per percent experienced discrimination on the market.

Many research and surveys showed that people who have experienced discrimination are more likely to avoid the same situations.

According to the Health Survey 2012-2013, 35 percent of Indigenous Australians who have been discriminated against stated that they responded to it by trying to avoid the offender in the future.

This applies to education (Priest Perry. Ferdinand. Paradies. & Kelaher. 2014), work sector (Biddle. 2013), and well-being.

Social discrimination is a major reason why the health status of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia is poorer than the rest.

There is a wide gap in inequality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The gap in life expectancy between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous is estimated to be almost seventeen years.

All age groups with a lower life expectancy than sixty-five are affected by the Indigenous population’s age-specific mortality rates. They are nearly twice the rate of non-Indigenous Australians.

Social discrimination is preventing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of having an equal chance of being as healthy as non Indigenous Australians (Kelaher. Ferdinand. Paradies, 2014.

Contrary to non-Indigenous individuals, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders face more socio-economic challenges. This puts them at greater risk for exposure to behavioral or environmental health risk factors.

Social discrimination is the reason for disparities in health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

This happens due to an inability to access health facilities, as well as a reduced accessibility to them, and a dearth of infrastructures for healthcare (Paradies Truong, Priest, & Priest 2014).

The systematic and avoidable deprivation in health outcomes as a result of social discrimination is not only possible, but also preventable.

While there have been improvements in decreasing disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as well as non-Indigenous Australians over recent years, these improvements are still not enough to close this gap.

In the case of long-term measures such life expectancy, there is more to be done.

Although improvements were made in some areas of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, they are not as effective as the rapid health improvements that have been made for Australians.

The effectiveness of healthcare depends on the response of both patients and doctors.

In order to diminish discrimination, medical professionals and patients must be addressed.

In healthcare settings, biases may also be present and need to be addressed.

It is possible to reduce discrimination based on ethnicity in the healthcare system by applying guidelines. (Penner, Blair, Albrecht, & Dovidio, 2014).

Human right-based methods can reduce the negative impact of social discrimination.

In order to ensure that ATSI individuals do not face discrimination, it is necessary to establish some fundamental principles.

They should also have the opportunity to preserve their culture and be offered new opportunities.

These strategies should be recognized as legitimate, non-discriminatory, and legal.

The creation of specific curriculums to address inequality in ATSI communities can help reduce social discrimination.

Human rights-based strategies establish that government has the responsibility to protect, respect, or satisfy the right for health.

In order to tackle discrimination in a targeted way and reach the desired goals, this strategy requires that governments work in partnership with ATSI communities.

These guidelines provide a framework for evaluating health policies and programs to make sure that they are appropriate, accessible, attainable, sufficient quality, as well as that they do not reduce privileges to the minimum.

Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday, 2017).

Therefore, human right-based approaches are vital for reducing the social discrimination faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Strategies for improving the health of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander residents can be created by addressing social discrimination’s negative health consequences.

Strategies should address both institutional as well as individual discrimination.

Strategies should look for ways to improve people’s behavior, their motivation and ability to motivate others.

Social influence can cause discrimination and prejudices. As such, it may be necessary to support people in changing their behavior.

It is important that the approaches are part of a continuum of learning experiences that are appreciated and integrated into schools, colleges, and other organizations.

Strategies should involve children as young as possible. Also, new members to the organizations should be encouraged and supported.

The best method to improve racial/ethnic relations is to establish opportunities for progressive interactions between people from diverse communities.

These strategies are more effective when they include supportive activities. This ensures that individuals of different cultures can function harmoniously. (Teaching tolerance – Diversity Equity and justice, 2017).

Conclusion

Discrimination is contrary to the core ethics of modern society.

Social discrimination poses a threat to society as well as to the individual who is subject to such unfavorable treatment.

It is a violation to a man’s human rights and existence.

Social discrimination has a direct impact on mental wellbeing and health.

To ensure a better nation, the government should create regulations. The society should also establish awareness programs and organizations to combat discrimination.

Refer to

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Government. (2017). Abs.gov.au. Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au

Everyone, everywhere, every day.

Comparing self-perceived and observed labour market discrimination within Australia.

Economic Papers. 32(3), 383-394.Egger, E. E. (2014).

Bodies, Stories and Reproductive Injustice: A New Narrative in the 1990s Peru.

New York, Sarah Lawrence College.Ferdinand, A., Paradies, Y., & Kelaher, M. (2013).

Mental health impacts of racial discrimination in Victorian Aboriginal community.

Melbourne: Lowitja Institute.Kelaher, M., Ferdinand, A., & Paradies, Y. (2014).

“Experiencing racism within health care: the mental and health impacts on Victorian Aboriginal communities.”

The Medical Journal of Australia. 201(1): 44–47.Pacquiao, D. (2016).

Social Determinants for Health.

Global Healthcare Issues and Policies, page 159.Paradies, Y., Truong, M., & Priest, N. (2014).

A systematic review to assess the prevalence and measure of healthcare provider racist behavior.

Journal of general medicine, 29(2). 364-387.Penner, L. A., Blair, I. V., Albrecht, T. L., & Dovidio, J. F. (2014).

Reduced racial health care disparities: A social psychological analysis.

Policy insights from brain and behavioral sciences, 1(1) 204-212.Priest, N., Perry, R., Ferdinand, A., Paradies, Y., & Kelaher, M. (2014).

Primary and secondary school students had experiences of racism, racial/ethnic attitude, and were motivated to promote fairness and improve mental health.

Journal of youth & adolescence. 43(10): 1672-1687.Rubin, I. L. (2016).

Social Determinants for Health.

Health Care for People with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities Across the Lifespan (1919-1932).Short, D. (2016).

Reconciliation, colonial power and Indigenous rights in Australia.

New York, Routledge.

Social determinants of Health (2017).

World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/

Teaching tolerance – Diversity, Equity and Justice. (2017). Tolerance.org. Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/Truong, M., Paradies, Y., & Priest, N. (2014).

Interventions to improve cultural competence and healthcare: A systematic review.

BMC health service research, 14(1): 99.