Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) - Essay Sample

Introduction

The SDOH comprises of several factors cumulative, having a bearing on the health status and life of an individual (WHO, 2018). The family system participating in the interview, are considered to be health conscious provided their access to quality food and housing in the suburbs of the city. The husband and wife as the head of the family are both professionals and have stable employment; hence financial crisis is not a concern for the family currently. The husband of the family is in stable health so keep working and has a constant stream of income. The husband has secured Medicaid for the rest of the family members; hence uncertainties concerning their health is taken care. The residence of the family, though, at the suburbs have access to the efficient road network, thus access to the social amenities, for instance, hospitals are taken care. The daughter of the family is in her final year of the medical school, whereas the son is at the business college. The family under investigation is considered not to be lacking, and are generally stable in all the aspect of life at this point. The SDOH about the family is established to be positive in every aspect, hence the stability of their health status.

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Age-Appropriate Screening

The husband of the family, 50 years old, is a middle-aged individual, who does not actively engaged in exercise activities provided his profession and level of inactivity. Therefore, during the annual screening, cholesterol levels of the man should be a matter of concern. Moreover, identification and evaluation of the probability of further lifestyle diseases, for instance, diabetes should also be considered. Furthermore, assessment of the cases of hypertension is appropriate and should have a reading below 120/80 mmHg every two years (John Hopkins Medicine, 2019). Moreover, because of spending the majority of working time in the health care institution, the husband tends not to uptake the proper diet. That increases the potential of developing cardiovascular diseases and among another chronic disease as a result. Therefore, assessment by a Tdap booster is recommended once in every seven years of practice.

The wife, 45 years old, in the family is also a medical professional who spends the majority of her time attending to women on labor. Therefore, similar screening done to her husband is recommended to be done to the woman. The type of work done by the woman makes her prone to instances of depression bouts, for example, when she delivers a sterile child, an expectant woman loses her life during operation, and among other complications. Therefore, the annual medical checkup should look into ways of helping her to cope with depression. That is through screening of depression bouts which is done quarterly, to facilitate prescription refills. Moreover, there should be the identification and evaluation of Tdap immunization, similar to what was assessed from the husband, every seven years. Provided the woman undertakes her practice at the health care institutions that should not be a matter of concern, as it can quickly be done. Being a 45-year-old woman, age is catching up with her, hence assessment of cervical cancer is paramount and should be done annually through pap smear done by a gynecologist.

The children in the family comprised of a girl and a boy, 23 and 20-year-old respectively. They are school going and in most cases school work may overwhelm them. Assessment of depression is vital to ensure their psychological wellness. Moreover, school going children tend to prefer fast foods, which are comprised of a high amount of sugar levels. Therefore, the routine annual assessment of health should include a visit to the dentist, to identify and evaluate the presence of cavities, if any.Health Model

The family system is considered to apply the functional model of health. The model of health perceives the health of an individual with regards to their capability of functioning at the potential optimal level in the diverse aspects of life (Torres, 2017). Not having a private driver, the man got involved in an accident and suffered light bruises on his limbs, that was unfortunate. The man arrived home but still performed his respective responsibility as the head of the family. He did not give into the sad incident to take away his role of ensuring the family is doing well. The same case applies to the wife, she deals with sharp objects in line of duty, when operating on expectant mothers. One time she cut herself, but when getting home, she shows the determination of fending for her family wants, with the help of her husband. That family setting functions holistically as a unit, and in the presence of uncertainties disrupting the functionality of the family, then they cannot achieve the harmony required in the system. Therefore, it is evident the family system works optimally in a model which is functional, which is also passed down to the children, who in turn gain a sense of responsibility when undertaking their respective duties.

The functional health model is a technique that identifies and evaluates the mechanism of diseases effect on an individual, with regards to their capability of fulfilling their daily duties. There is the need to conduct education on the family members to sensitize them about depression, need for rest, and avoiding foods having high sugar levels, especially the children. The man and the woman of the family should be incorporated into programs which ensure they actively engage in exercises in between their working hours, and the good it will do on their respective health. As much as the family shows effort in adhering to the balanced diet, addition emancipation on the need for proper nutrition should be done by a nutritionist to the various members of the family. Counseling should be focused on the need to eat healthy outside the home, for instance, in restaurants and among other fast food joints. Therefore, the children in the family will acquire proper feeding habits outside their homes and develop positive habits when growing up into having their own families. After that, constant communication streams with the family should be adopted to ensure their future concerns are dealt with effectively, and a follow up established to ensure they are adhering to the set standards (Falkov, 2017).

Conclusion

The African-American family is doing good to ensure they promote their health. However, there are still minor areas of concern that should be improved for proper health promotion. Health promotion enables the family to improve control over their health status, hence avoid potential uncertainties which may jeopardize their health. Promotion of health is best facilitated through improved assessment of individual health.

References

Falkov, A. (2017). The Family Model. Journal Of Parent And Family Mental Health, 2(2). doi: 10.7191/parentandfamily.1004

John Hopkins Medicine. (2019). Prevention Guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/prevention/

Torres, J. (2017). Introduction to Global Health Promotion. Health Promotion Practice, 18(2), 165-168. doi: 10.1177/1524839916689027

WHO. (2018). World Health Organization. Health Promotion. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/topics/health_promotion/en/