Paper Sample on Exploring Social Determinants of Health in Botswana

To begin with, this paper is to discuss social determinants of health in Botswana – a developing country. Many factors determine the health status of the people of Botswana. The major social health determinant is education (World Health Organization, 2018). This factor is broadly discussed below, along with other factors. In this letter, I also discuss the global health factors concerning the AID epidemic in the country. The World Health Organization and the Centre for Disease Control identify these social factors determining health unique to every country in the world. Social factors determine the quality of life and health. The inequities among people concerning healthcare are due to the government and health organizations' failure to address these social factors determining health.

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As indicated above, education is an essential social determinant of health in Botswana (World Health Organization, 2018). People that have higher achievements in education have access to employment opportunities, increased capacity to make informed decisions concerning their health, and can meet their personal and social needs that are important for mental and physical well-being (HealthyPeople.gov, 2020). People with low education levels are disadvantaged in these aspects. They are not able to adequately meet their health needs. In terms of healthy behaviors, they are less likely to practice preventive measures such as meeting nutritional needs and engaging in physical activity (World Health Organization, 2020). They also have reduced healthcare-seeking habits because they are unaware of its importance. Engaging communities in health education is required to address education inequalities. This measure will help educate people on the importance of health insurance, seeking care, and practicing preventive measures.

Another social factor that is undermining health in Botswana is poverty (World Health Organization, 2018). This factor is closely related to educational status. Having a higher educational status exposes one to the job market where they can secure employment. A large proportion of people do not have the educational requirements needed in the job market. Therefore, many people end up in unemployment and live in poverty. They are, therefore, unable to pay for their health and eat well. Poverty also exposes people to mental health issues like stress and depression. Poverty is associated with other social determinants of health like lack of standard education, poor housing conditions, low-income levels, unsafe neighborhoods, and limited access to healthy meals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018).

The AIDS epidemic is one of the significant challenges facing the health system in Botswana. Some of the global health indicators that can help understand the scope of the epidemic include access and use of services, the mortality rate due to the disease, poverty, education, and socio-economic factors (AbouZahr, Boerma & Hogan, 2017). Education and poverty have been discussed above as the social determinants of health. The AIDS epidemic has led to an increased mortality rate in the country. Increased poverty levels have led to limitations, or lack of access to health services regarding HIV/AIDs due to lack of means of transport and the inability to pay for transport means to reach care facilities. The access and utilization of HIV/AIDs services also help understand the management of the country's epidemic. Women are more likely to seek HIV testing, counseling, and care services than men in Botswana (Dahourou et al., 2017). Studying gender inequalities is also vital in understanding the epidemic.

Conclusion

There is a need to address the social and physical environment issues to help promote health for everyone (World Health Organization, 2018). The government can introduce primary healthcare to remote areas where such services are not available (Tapela et al., 2019), promoting healthcare education, developing health infrastructure, and providing employment opportunities. Also, there is a need for the government to introduce healthcare policy reforms such as universal coverage to help in ensuring the health of needy populations (World Health Organization, 2018).

References

AbouZahr, C., Boerma, T., & Hogan, D. (2017). Global estimates of country health indicators: useful, unnecessary, inevitable?. Global health action, 10(sup1), 1290370. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/16549716.2017.1290370

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Social determinants of health: Know what affects health. https://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/index.htm

Dahourou, D. L., GautierLafaye, C., Teasdale, C. A., Renner, L., Yotebieng, M., Desmonde, S., ... & Leroy, V. (2017). Transition from paediatric to adult care of adolescents living with HIV in subSaharan Africa: challenges, youthfriendly models, and outcomes. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 20, 21528. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.7448/IAS.20.4.21528

HealthyPeople.gov (2020). Social determinants of health. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health

Tapela, N. M., Tshisimogo, G., Shatera, B. P., Letsatsi, V., Gaborone, M., Madidimalo, T., ... & Dryden-Peterson, S. (2019). Integrating noncommunicable disease services into primary health care, Botswana. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 97(2), 142. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6357568/

World Health Organization. (2020). Social determinants of health. https://www.who.int/social_determinants/sdh_definition/en/

World Health Organization. (2018). WHO country cooperation strategy at a glance: Botswana (No. WHO/CCU/18.02/Botswana). World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/136997/ccsbrief_bwa_en.pdf