Family Health Assessment Part II
The Social Determinates Of Health (SDOH) Contributing To The Family’s Health Status.
The social determinants of health (SDOH) are circumstances under which individuals are born, live, grow, age, and work (Health Impact Assessment, 2007). The conditions are determined by power, money, and resources distribution at local, national, and global levels. The SDOH is highly responsible for inequalities in health. These are the unavoidable and unfair differences in health status witnessed in society. The conditions under which the family that I interviewed affect their work, learn, and interact, which in return affect their health outcomes and risks.
Since both parents in the family are working, they can access healthy meals, and live in a good and safe neighborhood. They also have access to a good education, not to mention that they access more health information from their work environment. The family also lives in a safe neighborhood; their children obtain a good education and have a good income. Based on these factors, the family has a better platform to maintain good health. The family’s health has profoundly been affected by the fact that they stay active, eat healthy meals, get all the necessary immunizations and screening, and visit a doctor whenever sick. Their health has also been influenced by their access to economic and social opportunities that include resources, support from their workplaces, safe workplaces, and access to clean food, water, and air.
The family’s economic stability contributes significantly to their health. According to SDOH, financial stability allows a person to access resources that boost god health (Health Impact Assessment, 2007). Factors that influence economic stability include work and employment environment, affordable housing, access to god transportation, access to nutritious food, and a good income (Glanz, Rimer & Lewis, 2002). The family has invested a lot in education. Education programs offer an excellent opportunity for minimizing health disparities. It also makes it possible to improve a person’s life quality, not to mention it promotes good health. According to the social determinants of health, education is the most crucial changeable social determinate of health (National Partnership for Action, 2011). It has proved to increase good behaviors that promote health and generally improve a person’s general health. The parents of the family that I interviewed enjoy great economic stability due to their higher educational achievement, which helps them support a healthier life. Childhood education attained by the two daughters is also vital because it has caused far-reaching and long-term impacts on their well-being and health knowledge.
The social and community is another determinant of health mentioned in the social determinants of health. This determinant includes how people relate with people around them and their civic and social connections (Health Impact Assessment, 2007). The family that I interviewed is friendly and showed good social connectedness and cohesion. The fact that it is a mixed family shows that they treat all people equally and without discrimination. They are also active participators in civic activities and contributors to good health in society. The family also has access t affordable and quality health services, which improves their health, while reducing their health disparities—living in a neighborhood where there are enough specialty care providers and reliable transport, as well as health insurance has also helped them to maintain good health.
Age Appropriate Screening
The two daughters who are in their early twenties get a cholesterol check annually. This examination will continue until they reach 35 years old. After the age of 35 years, they will get a cholesterol check every three years unless there are risk factors identified. They will also get a full-body skin screening to check if there are any skin lesions or moles. The girls will also be examined for any breast lumps as well as a pelvic exam. The girls, as well as the mother, will have a pap smear after every three years for the rest of their lives. The mother will have a mammogram examination since she is past 40 years of age. The mammogram examination will be done more regularly if there are higher risk factors. The man in the family, who is also above the age of 50, will be screened for prostate cancer. Both parents will also be examined for any skin lesions or moles, as well as for any signs of diabetes.
A Health Model to Assist in Creating a Plan of Action
The best model to apply in this case is the Transtheoretical model. This model describes the behavior change process and accounts for a person’s readiness to make behavior changes and sustain them (Glanz, Rimer & Lewis, 2002). The model is vital since it will help design programs that will be based on the family member’s ability, motivation, and ability. To promote better health in this family through the transtheoretical model, the following measures will be put in place. First, the members will require engaging in open communication, and secondly, they will need to have a family collaboration away from their daily routines. They will also be encouraged to take regular breaks and take holidays whenever possible, by so doing, they will improve their relations as well as achieve better was of relaxation.
References
Glanz, K., Rimer, M. & Lewis. F. (2002). Health behavior and health education. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Health Impact Assessment. (2007). A Tool to Help Policy Makers Understand Health Beyond Health Care. Annual Review of Public Health 2007;28:393-412. Retrieved from: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.28.083006.131942
National Partnership for Action. (2011). HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 2011; and The National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity, 2011. Available from: http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/npa