Transcript Q2) What influences the Health of Individuals?

CORE 1 (cont’d)
BETTER HEALTH FOR INDIVIDUALS
Q2) What influences the Health
of Individuals?
INFLUENCES????
Your decisions will move
you up or down your own
health continuum.
What are some of those
decisions?
What do you think
influences your health
affecting decisions?
What makes it easier,
more likely to choose one
action over another?
• Health is multi-causal. An individual’s level of health
status and quality of life are the result of many
factors interacting.
• These factors are referred to as
Determinants of health
• analyse how an individual’s health can
be determined by a range of factors
acting in various combinations
∙ Determinants of Health
– individual factors
– sociocultural factors
– socioeconomic factors
– environmental factors
- individual factors, eg knowledge and
skills, attitudes, genetics
Individual Factors
• Define “Individual Factors”
• Those factors that are unique to each person that
can determine their level of health.
• Describe “Individual Factors”
• They are the factors of health knowledge and
skills, personal attitudes and the value we place
on health and genetic factors that increase the
likelihood of particular health problems.
- sociocultural factors
FAMILY
Sociocultural (cont’d)
• PEERS
Sociocultural (Cont’d) MEDIA
Religion / Cultural background
Socioeconomic Factors
Environmental Factors
There are some positives….
• the degree of control individuals
can exert over their health
– modifiable and non-modifiable health
determinants
– the changing influence of determinants
through different life stages
– investigate how the determinants of health
explain why some individuals and groups have
better or worse health than others.
- modifiable and non-modifiable
health determinants
Easier to
modify
Difficult to
modify
Nonmodifiable
- the changing influence of
determinants through different life
stages
More Modifiable
Less Modifiable
14 yrs
30 yrs
60 yrs
Family, peers, diet, exercise, income, media, geographic
location
• health as a social construct
- recognises the interrelationship of
determinants
- challenges the notion that health is solely an
individual’s responsibility.
∙ Health as a Social Construct
• A persons health behaviours and health status
are significantly determined by factors relating to
the social physical and cultural environment that
they live in.
• Recognising that health is a social construct
explains why some groups have better or worse
health than others
• and that achievement in improvement in
particular groups health will be a complex and
prolonged process.
- recognises the interrelationship of
determinants
•
•
•
•
•
•
Most socioeconomically disadvantaged
Poorer levels of education
Higher rates of unemployment
Lower paid occupations
Live / work in hazardous environments
Greater difficulties accessing health
care
• Lower rates of home ownership,
overcrowding, social cohesion
• More risk factors i.e. smoking, h.b.p.
- challenges the notion that
‘health is solely an
individual’s responsibility’.
• Define “health is solely
an individual’s
responsibility”.
• A person is at ‘fault’ if
they choose poor
health behaviours, i.e.
that there are no other
factors to consider.
• But is it?????
• Describe in more detail
• This notion is based on the idea that a person can
freely choose behaviours that either impact positively
or negatively on their health – level of activity, diet, risk
taking, drug use. This ignores the degree of control a
person has over their decisions
• Challenging this notion
means that recognition
is given to other factors
that influence the
individuals decisions /
behaviours.
So who is responsible?
Responsibility lies somewhere in between.
• Explain significance of viewing health as
solely the responsibility of individuals, why
must this view be challenged.
• This view has limitations in explaining people’s
health status and addressing health concerns
and so measures put in place to improve
health will be narrow and ineffective for many
people.
Why have the measures for reducing
smoking been successful but not for
alcohol abuse?
• Analyse how this view of health has limitations
and how this can impact upon attempts to
improve a people’s health.
• Assumes that knowledge is enough to make
people healthier, yet doesn’t explain why people
who know better still have poor health
behaviours,
• Ignores the influence of health determinants
• Attempts to improve health will be less successful
as a result.
• Evaluate the benefit of challenging this notion of
‘fault’ and that recognising that health is NOT
solely the responsibility of the individual.
• Peoples health behaviours are influence d by
other factors which also have responsibility for
determining a persons health.
o Predisposing factors – increase likelihood
o Enabling factors – support behaviour
o Reinforcing factors – help behaviour continue.
o To address health issues ALL factors need to be
considered.
Why does she binge drink?