Social Determinants Of Health

The social determinants of health (SDH) are defined by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) as “conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks" (ODPHP, n.d.). The SDH has five domains, which include: (1) economic stability; (2) education access and quality; (3) health care access and quality; (4) neighborhood and built environment; and (5) social and community context (ODPHP, n.d.). These domains all play significant roles in the health status of vulnerable population groups and collectively impact their health risks and outcomes. First, economic instability or poverty renders a population …show more content…
For example, a higher income will likely (although not always) provide better access to quality education (especially for the children of vulnerable populations), better access to quality health care, safer housing, better neighborhood environment, as well as improved social and community support. Second, vulnerable populations have limited access to quality education. People with higher levels of education tend to be healthier (ODPHP, n.d.), while people with lower levels of education tend to suffer from more health issues, likely due to their different employment opportunities and income status. Further, people with higher levels of education are more equipped with knowledge and resources to navigate through the complex health care provider and payment systems in the U.S. Correspondingly, they are more likely to utilize these systems to better their own health and improve the health status and outcomes of their families. Third, lack of or limited access to quality health care may significantly elevate the health risks and compromise the health outcomes of vulnerable …show more content…
When there exists a significant power inequity, the abuse of power is likely to occur. In the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, the doctors held an unchecked amount of power over the poor black patients that led to the abuse. The fact that such abuse went on for so long without any questions being asked confirmed the utter lack of checks and balances in the system when this experiment took place. Similarly, in the Stanford Prison Experiment, the prison guards were given a significant amount of power over the prisoners. Although the prison guards were given some instructions, such instructions did not provide sufficiently adequate checks and balances against the potential abuse of power. Further, when a prison guard’s failure to follow the instructions was not immediately reprimanded by those in position to do so (i.e., the observing professors), it led to further abuse of power by the prison guards and mental breaking down of the prisoners. It is unlikely that power inequity can be completely eliminated or significantly

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