DNP 825 Evaluate how social factors, such as personal or professional values, influence both individual and population health
Individual and population health can be heavily influenced by various social factors. Social factors can be closely linked with health disparities and limit the overall quality of care for individual or groups of people. One social factor that impacts health is education. Research shows that education can be linked to adherence to preventative care (Raghupathi & Raghupathi, 2020). The lack of health education can limit health knowledge which could lead to poor health choices. Being well-informed can promote better lifestyle choices leading to better health. It is also known that obtaining a higher level of education can lead to better paying jobs. This leads to another social factor, income. Higher income levels can allow groups of people to have better access to health. Having lower income can prevent someone from having affordable health insurance which could impact how often they may see a doctor. It can also prevent people from being able to afford healthier food options and decrease the time they have for exercise. All these things can directly affect one’s health.
From a worldview perspective it is my belief that everyone should have equal access to quality care. No matter the circumstances no one deserves to have limited access to care because of social factors. While some social factors are determined by individual choices others are influenced by political climate or other economical factors. For instance, during COVID many people lost their jobs. McCartney et al., (2020) research confirmed that insecurity and unemployment is negative for health, in particular mental health. When people have poorly managed mental health, they are at increased risk for physical health problems. Giving people equal access to healthcare, in spite of social factors, will lead to healthier population that requires less medical care.
References
McCartney, G., Hearty, W., Arnot, J., Popham, F., Cumbers, A., & McMaster, R. (2019). OP64 The impact of political economy on population health: A systematic review of reviews. Oral Presentations. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2019-ssmabstracts.65
Raghupathi, V., & Raghupathi, W. (2020). The influence of education on health: An empirical assessment of OECD countries for the period 1995–2015. Archives of Public Health, 78(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-020-00402-5
