In chapter three we learned in depth the meaning and importance of understanding the social determinants of health, defined as the conditions that people are born, grow, live, and age in. Social, economic, political, legal and material factors are often referred to as social determinants of health because, “factors such as poverty and wealth, political systems, the types of housing in which people live, sanitary systems and access to clean water, for example are linked to health and disease” (Merson, Black, Mills, 2012). In the first video given to us Sir Michael Marmot provides us with insight and elaborates on issues of social determinants within different nations. He begins with the example of maternal related death in the United States, which should be the country with the best medical care considering we spend the most on it. But, surprisingly there are sixty-two countries that have better maternal care than the United States. This clearly depicts that quality is much more important than quantity, though we spend a lot, people are still not given quality medical care. In the second video the Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chen, touches on this when she says, “lives are cut short much too early because the right policies were not in place. The differences within and between countries in income levels and opportunities in health are greater today than in history” (Chen, 2015). In this video I learned about how many places still experience health inequalities such as Brazil. I learned that these inequalities greatly impact life expectancy. For example. in Malawi a child’s life expectancy is only forty-seven years but in Japan they can live up to 83 years. In addition, low income countries have an average life expectancy of fifty years, where as high income have an expectancy of eighty plus years, thus showing how socioeconomic status greatly impacts medical care.

Michael Marmot said, “It’s not just the length of life but the quality of life that natters” (Marmot, 2014). This really stood out to me because social factors can really shape health outcomes. The key issues in addressing social determinants of health are similar to those Marmot touched on. In my opinion, in order to achieve the greatest health equity addressing social determinants of health is important and the issues for addressing it are things with educations and economic stability. Unfortunately, one of the main issue is not every country has equal education or the resources to provide the best standard of living or jobs opportunities for every individual. Marmot spoke about how The WHO is addressing issues in the social determinants of health. As of right now they are working on improving the conditions of life, tackling “the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources … (and developing) a workforce that is trained in the social determinants of health, and raise public awareness about the social determinants of health” (WHO, 2008). I believe the creation of policies and providing things such as equal education all play a role in decreasing a divide in the way people live, things such as a better education can mean having a better job, more income and a better standard of living. Overall, I think awareness has been a big issue in addressing social determinants, people need to be aware in order to promote and create programs for a better quality of life.

Raul

In this chapter we learned the true meaning of social determinants of health. I have learned that social, economic, political, legal and material factors are all capable of affecting health and causing diseases in any part of the world (Merson, 2012). In one of the videos provided to us, we observe Prof Michael Marmot dive into the key issues of social determinants throughout the world. Were taught that just having medical care wont mean that health will be improved. Prof Michael Marmot gives an analysis example demonstrating that the U.S. was ranked around the number 50 out of the 194 member states of the united nations in regards to maternal health (World.mines, 2014). What does this prove? Even though the U.S. is known for spending the most on medical care, it still has not been able to find a better solution to reduce maternal mortality rates as countries have. This teaches us that the issue on social determinants is not within health care itself, but instead on the quality of peoples lives due to inequality.

My opinion on the key issues in addressing social determinants of health is based on Michael Marmot’s views. How can an indigent person who barely has assets to subsidize for his or her living, be able to afford healthcare? The combination of poor social policies, unfair economic arrangements and bad politics are responsible for inequalities and conditions of daily life (World.mines, 2014). It is said that when one is educated enough, that person has the capability of making the right choices for a better quality life. Unfortunately, not everyone has the adequate amount of resources to attend higher levels of education such as colleges or universities. With that being said, policies need to remain adjustable based on evidences that demonstrate positive effect of quality health. In the second video, we are given 5 action areas that the WHO tend tackle to end global health inequity within a generation. All five areas work interdependently with each other to attain its goal. Because this is opinion based, I find one to be the most imperative. I believe good governance is the base for eliminating health inequity. Promoting transparency and fair policies are key components to good governance. All income groups need to have the same amount of access to quality care and protection. By creating new jobs that pay well and applying training for those who are underemployed, will create stability and resources to afford health care. After all, the purpose of the implementations are to create fairness across the world.

pur-new-sol

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