Social Determinants of Health in Canada (Essay Sample)

Social Determinants of Health in Canada
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Social determinants of heath refer to these conditions where are born, live, grow and work. Social factors include, social support networks, socioeconomic status, physical environment ad neighbourhood. In Canada the key factors that impact the health care are not limited to lifestyle choices or medical treatments but extends to include working and living conditions of the Canadians. Evidences form various health care studies done in Canada reveal that the quality of healthcare social determinants experienced in Canada explain the health inequalities existing in Canada. The social determinants of health determine whether or not Canadian nationals experience chronic diseases including respiratory diseases, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular illnesses. These social determinants are directly related to the income of Canadians. The government at local, municipal and federal level formulate regulations, laws and policies that control the income received by Canadians thorough family benefits, social assistance and employment. Income influences the social determinants of health including the kind of education, type of housing, kinds of social services and health.
Income influences various social determinants of health including education, food security, housing and Early childhood development.
Education
Education is considered one of the key social determinants of health. Studies reveal the individuals who have attained higher level of education tend to be healthier compared to those with lower level of education. Education leads to healthier through various ways and is highly correlated to other determinants of health more particular the level of income. Proper education allows individuals to acquire better jobs and access social and economic resources (page 31). Education is known to increase an individuals’ understanding on how one can improve their health. However, education is severely affected with the level of income with people coming from unprivileged backgrounds failing to achieve proper education. Canada also has high tuition fees which has been a challenge to students from poor families to attain college or university education.
Housing
Homelessness and low quality housing are threats to the quality of health among many Canadians. Proper housing is considered a basic need for everyone and should always be made safe, affordable and secure. According to studies, people living in unsafe and insecure places are at high risk of contracting contagious diseases and other health problems (page 38). The main reason many Canadians face housing problems is lack of financial and other economic resources. Housing influences the quality of health in Canada in various ways. Poor housing and overcrowding is associated with poor sanitation and lack of clean water which may lead to poor health. Poor people living in the indigenous reserves who have no resources to construct proper houses are mainly affected, while those have enough income tend to be healthier because of their ability to have safe and secure housing. Canada has also been experiencing housing crisis for the last 30 years. The rent has been rising beyond the cost of living especially to those living in the cities (page 38).
Food Insecurity
Food is a basic need and also one of the most important determinants of good health. Food insecurity is when citizens are unable to acquire proper balance diet consisting of vitamins, vegetables and milk products. Canadians who are food insecure face various health issues. Food insecurity result from various factors including employment change, hob loss and unemployment. The amount and type of food that an individual take is directly associated with their level of income. Those who have good income have the ability to afford balanced diet and are always healthy compared to those with little income. Dietary deficiencies are associated with various chronic diseases which are often difficult to manage including heart diseases, diabetes, food allergies and hypertension (page 34). However, food insecurity in Canada is also linked to increased population, where the families increase in number while income remains constant (page 34).
Early Childhood Development
Early childhood development is closely related to social, psychological and biological health issues. various health issues are believed to origin from childhood experiences including low birthweights especially among babies born in disadvantaged families. Pregnant women coming from poor families or families with little income often have poor maternal diet and also experiences stress. These factors not only affect the health of the mother but also the child. Severe health problems can also result from early mental and psychological experiences. (page 31). The level of income influences early child development in various ways, children born in poor families often have poor diet and poor living conditions, and often have poor health compared to those born in wealthy families. Studies done in Canada reveal that many people with severe health issues were born in poor families and experienced the worst upbringing and poor child development.
There are various economic and political idea that influence the way in which resources in Canada are allocated hence increasing the level of poverty. Most political leaders tend to take developments including proper housing, healthcare, and education to places where they come from and areas where they received much votes. Moreover, the Canadian political leaders tend to develop areas where Canadian-born people live and neglect areas occupied by immigrants and other non-Canadians. This has seen places occupied with immigrants and non-Canadians lack essential services including proper education, good housing and good infrastructure. Therefore, this people often lack proper education and reduced employment opportunities increasing the level of poverty (page 21). Moreover, economic ideas, including the notion the rural parts of Canada are not economically has seen the state give the urban areas a lot of resources in terms of industrial development, number of schools, hospitals and general social amenities. People living in the urban areas have access to quality education due to numerous schools and universities and also access quality jobs. Those in the rural areas lavish in poverty due inadequate social support, poor education, inadequate infrastructure, income inequality and reduced access to quality health care.
Individuals who experience problematic social determinants of health undergo various processes which lead to illnesses and premature death. The way in which the societies are organized influences the working and living condition which shapes health of the people. The process that lead to illness and premature death operate via behavioural, psychological and material pathways. These process are associated with early life, cultural factors and genetics which are also key determinants of health. The process starts form the primary life determinants including genes, culture and early life which shapes the life behaviour of an individual. The altered health behaviour then leads to psychological and pathophysiological changes which depend on social environment and can lead to mortality (page 16). At the physiological level, stress can lead to adverse biological reaction that weakens the body, continued stress may lead to severe complications which can lead to illnesses or even death (page 15). Stress provokes physiological processes that make individuals vulnerable to diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes among others.
There exist various groups of people who are likely to experience problematic social determinants of health. These people include individuals with disability, women, and Immigrants. Racism has been one of the challenges affecting most people in Canada with the Blacks facing the highest level of racism. Studies in Canada reveal that one-third of the racialized communities in Canada are Canada-born with the remaining two-thirds being immigrants. Racism in Canada is associated with lower income, unemployment and poor education. (page 71). These are key social determinants of health which can lead to mental, social and physical health issues. (page 71). Racism in Canada takes three forms including institutionalized racism, personally-mediated racism and internalized racism. According to Nancy Krieger, immigrants facing racism experience some of the worst social determinants of life because of social and economic deprivation, trauma, inadequate quality healthcare and poor living conditions.
Canadian women face the worst social determinants of health compared to men (page 63). Research reveal that this result from the fact that Canadian women are burdened with responsibilities including housework and caring for children, and are also victims of systematic discrimination. Moreover, Canadian women get employed in low-paying jobs and face a lot of discrimination in the workplace. Canadian women also tend to earn less than their male counterparts in the same occupation (page 63). Another group that has face sever social determinants of health are people with disability. The society is always not willing to support people with disability and provide them with opportunities to participate in Canadian life (page 55). Studies reveal that Canadians living with disability are less likely to get employment, and when employed when earn less that norm people. Research done in Canada reveal that only 53% of Canadians living with disability are employed compared to that of normal people living without disability which is 80%.