PH 7285 Social Determinants Of Health

Question Key Health Determinants Did you know that the United States has a higher rate of infant mortality than Japan (CIA, n.d.)? Or, as Dr. Beilenson states in this week’s media presentation, that “your zip code that you live in makes more difference in your health and well-being than the genetic code that you’re born with?” What causes these differences in health outcomes? To effectively develop policies and programs to improve population health, it is useful to use a framework to guide the process. Different organizations and governmental agencies (for example, Healthy People 2020) have created a variety of such frameworks, which establish measures for assessing population health. These measures frequently are derived from the examination of epidemiologic data, which include key measures of population health such as mortality, morbidity, life expectancy, etc. Within each measure are a variety of progress indicators that use epidemiologic data to assess improvement or change. For this Discussion, you will apply a framework developed by Kindig, Asada, and Booske (2008) to a population health issue of interest to you. This framework includes five key health determinants that should be considered when developing policies and programs to improve population health: access to health care, individual behavior, social environment, physical environment, and genetics. To Prepare: Review the article “A Population Health Framework for Setting National and State Health Goals,” focusing on population health determinants. Review the information in the blog post “What Is Population Health?” With this information in mind, elect a population health issue that is of interest to you. Using this week’s Learning Resources, the Walden Library, and other relevant resources, conduct a search to locate current data on your population health issue. Consider how epidemiologic data has been used to design population health measures and policy initiatives in addressing this issue. Answer Key Health Determinants Obesity is a common metabolic disease prevalent in United States. It affected about 93.3 million of the adult population in US. The estimated annual cost of obesity in US has been found to be about $147 billion in the year 2017 (Centers for disease control and prevention, 2018). The medical costs for obese people are about $147 billion higher than that of the normal people. Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, type 2 diabetes, stroke and many other clinical conditions leading to premature and preventable deaths. Determinants Of Obesity Problem In United States Access To Health Care People living in the rural areas or those belonging to low socioeconomic status might not get access to effective primary strategies for obesity prevention. Unavailability of proper dieticians of nutritionists for making assisting to make a proper diet plan and exercise regimen might be an important factor behind obesity problems (Hill, You & Zoellner, 2014). Social Environment Socio-economic status can be an important determinant of obesity as people suffering from poverty are likely to consume unhealthy fast food as they night not afford healthy and nutritious, fresh foods (Suglia et al., 2016). Other factors like the increased portion sizes, proliferation of the fast food chain are also contributing to obesity problems. Individual Behavior The behavioral influences on the intake of energy and energy expenditure is also important. Obesity promoting individual behaviors like frequent consumption of the fast food, adopting a sedentary life style, high consumption of sweetened beverages, skipping of breakfast, large portion sizes and intentional lack of physical exercises contributes to obesity (Affenito et al., 2012). Physical Environment Physical environmental factors such as the overcrowding, lack of proper space, lack of playgrounds and parks can contribute to obesity. Adults and children cannot practice exercises or physical activities due to lack of spaces. Genetics There are studies that have provided evidence about the different genetic variants that might contribute to obesity by increasing the food intake. According to Choquet and Meyre, (2011), defects in eight genes involved in the neuronal differentiation in the leptin pathway have been found to be linked to monogenic obesity. Most of the literary evidences suggests that it is the dietary habits that interacts with the genes fir modulating the predisposition to obesity. Amongst all the determinants I believe that it is the individual behavior, which is the most important determinant of obesity. Lack of awareness among the adolescents about the correct choice of food, easy availability of take-away food, large number of fast food restaurants are provoking people against unhealthy life choices. Unhealthy choices of food is always not guided by socio-economic status, but also upon individual choices. Epidemiological Data A large number of epidemiological data supports the prevalence of obesity amongst people. According to Aldrich et al., (2015), 38 % of the world population will become overweight by 2030. It is the epidemiological data that helps to investigate the average and the overall effects of obesity within the entire population. This avoids any assumption about the distribution of the risks. It is the epidemiological data that helps to determine the risk factors and the determinants of the disease. Policy making requires relevant and timely information. It is the epidemiological data that gives scientific evidences that helps in taking decisions regarding policy making. For example, a health survey by Centers for disease control and prevention, has found that that the prevalence of obesity has been found in adolescent individuals, due to the high prevalence of alcohol intake and fast food consumption, hence this epidemiologic data can be used by the policy makers to form guidelines regarding the best food habits. References Affenito, S. G., Franko, D. L., Striegel-Moore, R. H., & Thompson, D. (2012). Behavioral determinants of obesity: Research findings and policy implications. Journal of obesity, 2012. Aldrich, M. C., Hidalgo, B., Widome, R., Briss, P., Brownson, R. C., & Teutsch, S. M. (2014). The role of epidemiology in evidence-based policy making: a case study of tobacco use in youth. Annals of epidemiology, 25(5), 360-5. Centers for disease control and prevention, (2018).Behavior, environment, and genetic factors all have a role in causing people to be overweight and obese. Access date: 7.12,2018. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/ Choquet, H., & Meyre, D. (2011). Genetics of Obesity: What have we Learned?. Current genomics, 12(3), 169-79. Hill, J. L., You, W., & Zoellner, J. M. (2014). Disparities in obesity among rural and urban residents in a health disparate region. BMC public health, 14, 1051. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1051 Lanas, F., Bazzano, L., Rubinstein, A., Calandrelli, M., Chen, C. S., Elorriaga, N., Gutierrez, L., Manfredi, J. A., Seron, P., Mores, N., Poggio, R., Ponzo, J., Olivera, H., He, J., … Irazola, V. E. (2016). Prevalence, Distributions and Determinants of Obesity and Central Obesity in the Southern Cone of America. PloS one, 11(10), e0163727. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163727 Suglia, S. F., Shelton, R. C., Hsiao, A., Wang, Y. C., Rundle, A., & Link, B. G. (2016). Why the neighborhood social environment is critical in obesity prevention. Journal of Urban Health, 93(1), 206-212.

PH 7285 Social Determinants Of Health

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PH 7285 Social Determinants Of Health

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