Population Health: Social Determinants and Risk Factors

Table of Contents

Introduction
Social determinants and risk factors for population health
Conclusion
References List

Introduction

Population health is influenced by contributions of psychological, socio-economic, behavioral, and biological life exposure. In understanding social determinants and risk factors of population health, consideration is given to social distributions; the social determinants and risk factors of population health interact and accrue over an individual’s lifetime; this is also considered across generations and determinations of how they affect population health. Research has shown that there is a link between biological pathways and social environment and health. The main focus is placed on population, social standing, allostatic load, psychosocial, and behavioral factors (Raphael, 2004).

Population health can be influenced by poor social and economic incidences. People who are in lower social classes usually are at least twice at risk of severe illnesses and early deaths as compared to counterparts found in upper social classes. This trend runs across all the social strata, for instance, even among the high-class office workers the low ranking individuals are at more risk of serious illness and deaths than the high ranking ones.

Stress also affects population health; there are social circumstances that can cause stress over the long term. These circumstances include perpetual anxiety, low self-esteem, constant insecurity and social isolation, disturbance at the job place, unemployment, and lack of social reinforcement. Stress turns livelihood and another crucial resource from physiological activities that are crucial for the long-term maintenance of the body. Long exposure to stress may result in serious health infections, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, depression, and stroke.

Studies have also shown that adult health depends on early childhood and the period before birth. Research shows that poor emotional support and slow growth have a lifetime effect of diminishing cognitive, emotional, and physical operation of the body during adulthood. Deprived early life experience and diminished growth become embedded in the biological development of an individual. This affects health the whole lifetime. Individual development is also affected during pregnancy when the mother may be smoking, drinking alcohol, stressed, or depressed (Raphael, 2004).

Absolute poverty makes a population vulnerable to several diseases and conditions. Very poor people, especially the street families, are at the highest risk of being attacked by diseases arising from poor hygiene and also are likely to die prematurely due to a lack of resources to either prevent or treat serious illnesses.

Several risk factors threaten population health. These factors include smoking, poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, uncontrolled consumption of alcohol among others. These factors have a link to economic and social disadvantages. People who resort to smoking, drinking alcohol, and substance abuse end up in the lower social class and even worse. War also affects population health; in areas experiencing constant war, people are prone to health risks. The risks may be a result of the use of chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, and other explosive weapons. War also leads to poor economic, political, and social performance leading to poor health amongst the population (Puska and McQueen, 2003).

Conclusion

Population health is linked to psychosocial, cognitive, and behavioral factors. There are social activities that affect individuals’ biological performances. Population health is affected by factors like stress, low social class, unemployment, lack of social support, lack of exercise, heavy drinking and smoking, continuous war, and poor economic performance of a country. It may also be affected by poor nutrition and a general lack of health facilities (Puska and McQueen, 2003).