The Social Determinants of Health & Poor Environmental Health - Essay Sample

Introduction

Environmental health is associated with the social determinants of health (SDOH). These SDOH are situations of living, such as housing, socioeconomics, transportation, and quality education that directly affect health, and access to health care needs (Green, 2020). A poorer environment can augment the burden of disease on the populations. When citizens are exposed to a poor environment they will be more prone to developing poor health outcomes. For example, poor hygiene practices, and water pollution can cause an outbreak of Cholera, or other gastrointestinal connected infectious diseases (Green, 2020). Growth of molds, mycotoxins, and bacterial in damp houses augments the likelihood of getting respiratory infections. Another unverified environmental impact on population includes; the exposure of citizens to violent crimes, air pollution, and proximity to traffic noise can lead to the development of cardiovascular ailments (Green, 2020). Since, these individuals will have reduced physical activity, sleep, and increased anxiety (Green, 2020).

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How do Environmental Influences Affect Nursing Practice?

Health care's swift transformation in this age places emphasis on the environment, health care policies, and the efficacy of the health care system (Green, 2020). Improvement in nursing practice now mandates that nurses screen beyong the proximate, and be eager to understand how poor environmental practices affect the population, and preventive strategies that can be implemented to reduce this challenge. In a nutshell, due to the dangers that the populations are being exposed to due to poor environmental practices, the focus on nursing practice is shifting from traditional illness to preventive care (Green, 2020). These new roles will create nurses who embrace health equity, and are trained on current trends of SDOH. The advancement of nursing roles will now include; addressing the need of increasing the number of nurses with a doctorate, along with the expectation of all nurses to implement nursing theory, research, clinical professionalism, and leadership development to address the growing challenges of health care (Green, 2020).

What Oversight Organizations Guide Regulations and Policies?

The oversight of federal program plans, and procedures for Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Basic Health Program (BHP) is done through Medicaid and CHIP provisions (CMCS). For example, the CHIP program offers states with federal matching funds for provision of health coverage to children of eligible households (Green, 2020). On the other hand, the BHP permits regional health benefits for low-income adults, who are eligible to buy private insurance through the marketplace (Green, 2020). Health in All Policies (HiAP) provides an integrative approac that merges public health considerations into government decisions, and policy making, making sure there is neutral or positive impact on the SDOH (Green, 2020).

What are the Interrelationships Among Health Policy, Social Justice, and Nursing Practice?

Health policy, social justice, and nursing practice closely relate to each other when it comes to their influence on enhancing that all citizens get equal access to health care (Green, 2020). Health policies in this discussion will mean the guidelines required to be followed by nurses to ensure that they focus on preventive models and familiarizing themselves with SDOH's to better deliver quality health care. While nurses execute these new roles, the need to champion for social justices becomes important. The aspect of social justice is meant to ensure that health, and all SDGs are accessible to all citizens (Green, 2020). For example, campaign for no poverty, gender equality, quality education, and sustainable cities and communities (Green, 2020).

References

Green, Z. S. (2020). The environment, policy, and health effectiveness. 1-28.