Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in which people are born

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in which people are born, live, grow, work, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life” (WHO, 2016). These forces and systems, including the health care system, include economic policies, development agendas, cultural and social norms, social and political systems. The circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national, and local levels, which are influenced by policy choices. The social determinates of health are associated with health inequities, the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries. (WHO, 2016). These SDOH are the (non-medical) factors that directly influence health incomes.
Health care professionals are educated about the social determinants of health to generate awareness about the potential root causes of ill health and the importance of addressing them in and with communities and to contribute to more effective strategies for improving health and health care for underserved individuals, communities, and populations. In Case Study #2, we will analyze the SDOH illustrated through Gwai Boonkeut’s story from Unnatural Causes, place matters. Watch the video episode: Places Matter (3min36seconds – 19 min) or read the script before working on this case study in small groups.
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Gwai Boonkeut is a 49-year-old client living in Richmond, California (CA) who is a refugee from Laos. Thinking about the four major principles of nursing (which serve as the foundation for all nursing philosophies and include person, environment, health, and nursing), incorporating the SDOH allows nurses to provide holistic care to our patients/clients/healthcare consumers.
1).First, perform a city assessment and describe Richmond’s:
Neighborhood and the built environment (e.g. housing, transportation, neighborhood safety or violence, green space),
Economy (e.g. jobs, income),
Education,
Health care (access), and
Social context (e.g. community population & community support).
2).What health threats does Gwai face that are beyond his individual control? What are the wider set of forces and systems shaping these conditions that affect Gwai’s daily life? 3).Reflect on all the SDOH domains. What inferences can you make about how these impact Gwai’s health status. In your role as a nurse (in training) as caregiver, advocate, educator, leader, manager, collaborator and/or researcher, what do you think contributed to/caused Gwai’s health inequities? Please identify and describe.
4).What, if any, are opportunities for healthcare professional advocacy?
5).If Gwai was a client in your care, what would be your nursing priorities?
Instructions: Present your findings in a slide presentation format (e.g. PPT, Google slides, Prezi etc…) that does not require registration set-up (e.g. sharable link without protected password requirements) to view, with citations and references., either as a file upload or URL upload with permission to view. Submit in Canvas before the deadline. This is a complete/incomplete assignment.
References
Adelman, L., Smith, L., Vital Pictures, National Minority Consortia, California Newsreel (2008). Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick? https://samuelmerritt.bywatersolutions.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=9408.
National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine (2016). A framework for educating health professionals to address the social determinants of health. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/2192.
World Health Organization (2021). Social determinants of health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_1.