scholarly journals Understanding the Influence of Ghanaian Women’s Migration Patterns on Access to Health Care 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Malagón ◽  
Laiba Rizwan ◽  
Solina Richter
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Primary Study ◽  
Female Migrants

Abstract Background: In recent years, there has been a noted increase in migration rates with trends marking a rise in women seeking relocation as means to access employment or academic opportunities; this growth is referred to as the feminization of migration. Migration stimulates female empowerment, increases access to financial opportunities, and promotes cultural diversity; all while simultaneously exposing women to detrimental conditions that impose risks to their physical and psychological well-being. Health is a fundamental human right that female migrants often get deprived of due to various social, cultural, political and economic factors in the destination region. These factors catalyze inhabitable environments in which migrant women are further exposed to harm, stimulating their status as vulnerable populations. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis to explore how the social determinants of health, specifically socioeconomic status, culture, and education impact health outcomes and health care access of Ghanaian women who migrated internally within Ghana or externally to Canada. Fourteen interview transcripts, seven from each primary study dataset, were analyzed using thematic analysis and an intersectionality approach. Ethical approval was received for the primary studies and our secondary analysis via the Ethics Review Board at the University of Alberta, Canada. Results: Ghanaian female migrants experienced varying obstacles in terms of accessing health care services. The barriers were identified as cultural, financial, social, and lack of health insurance. Ghanaian women’s health outcomes were influenced by the conditions surrounding their migration including working conditions, separation from family, altered social support systems, and financial constraints. Conclusion: Areas requiring further research and development were identified by assessing migrants’ social determinants of health in the destination country and the associated-barriers in accessing health services. We hope our findings will serve as a foundation for improving health outcomes for female migrant populations and support health care professionals' practice of cultural competence.

Time to Develop Social Dentistry

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bedos ◽  
N. Apelian ◽  
J.N. Vergnes
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Dental Professionals

Knowledge Transfer Statement: We are calling researchers, educators, and dental professionals to be at the forefront of actions addressing social determinants of health. We indeed argue that 1) it is the dentists’ and other oral health care professionals’ role to tackle social determinants of health and 2) as researchers and educators, we need to help clinicians in this endeavor and lead the development of a “social dentistry” movement.

Wealth and the health of older Black women in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1055-1068
Author(s):  
Andy Sharma
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
The Impact

Summary Public health scholars and policy-makers are concerned that the United States continues to experience unmanageable health care costs while struggling with issues surrounding access and equity. To addresses these and other key issues, the National Academy of Medicine held a public symposium, Vital Directions for Health and Health Care: A National Conversation during September 2016, with the goal of identifying clear priorities for high-value health care and improved well-being. One important area was addressing social determinants of health. This article contributes to this objective by investigating the impact of wealth on older Black women’s health. Employing the 2008/2010 waves of the RAND Health and Retirement Study on a sample of 906 older Black women, this panel study examined self-assessed health ratings of very good/good/fair/poor within a relaxed random effects framework, thereby controlling for both (i) observed and (ii) unobserved individual-level heterogeneity. This analysis did not find a statistically significant association with wealth despite a difference of approximately $75 000 in its valuation from very good to poor health. This also occurred after wealth was (i) readjusted for outliers and (ii) reformulated as negative, no change or positive change from 2008. This finding suggests that wealth may not play as integral a role. However, the outcome was significant for earnings and education, particularly higher levels of education. Scholars should further this inquiry to better understand how earnings/education/wealth operate as social determinants of health for minority populations.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on social determinants of health for adults with cystic fibrosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 175346662110374
Author(s):  
Dana Albon ◽  
Heather Bruschwein ◽  
Morgan Soper ◽  
Rhonda List ◽  
Deirdre Jennings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: Outcomes in cystic fibrosis are influenced by multiple factors, including social determinants of health. Low socioeconomic status has been shown to be associated with lung function decline, increased exacerbation rates, increased health care utilization, and decreased survival in cystic fibrosis. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the US economy, placing people with cystic fibrosis at risk for negative impacts due to changes in social determinants of health. Methods: To characterize the impact of COVID-19-related changes in social determinants of health in the adult cystic fibrosis population, a social determinants of health questionnaire was designed and distributed to patients as part of a quality improvement project. Results: Of 132 patients contacted, 76 (57.6%) responses were received. Of these responses, 22 (28.9%) answered yes to at least one question that indicated an undesired change in social determinants of health. Patients with stable employment prior to COVID-19 were more likely to endorse undesired change in all domains of the questionnaire, and the undesired changes were most likely to be related to employment, insurance security, and access to medications. Patients receiving disability were more likely to report hardship related to utilities and food security compared with patients previously employed or unemployed. Of patients endorsing risk of socioeconomic hardship, 21 (95.5%) were contacted by a social worker and provided resources. Conclusion: Utilizing a social determinants of health questionnaire to screen for social instability in the context of COVID-19 is feasible and beneficial for patients with cystic fibrosis. Identifying social issues early during the pandemic and implementing processes to provide resources may help patients with cystic fibrosis mitigate social hardship and maintain access to health care and medications.

scholarly journals Frameworks and inequalities in healthcare: some applications

2021 ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
Pietro Renzi ◽  
Alberto Franci
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
Quadrant Analysis ◽  
Inequality Measures ◽  
Health Objectives

Background Social determinants of health (SDOH) have increasingly entered health policy conversations as a growing body of researches, reveal the direct relationship between social determinants and health outcome. In fact, the recent literature is moving from the traditional model that focus on how health affects economic status, to a new view that economic status affects health. Objectives To investigate the principal conceptual frameworks for action on social determinants of health. Another aim is to contribute on the ongoing discourse on feasible measures which could be used to alert regions to inequalities in the distribution of health. Methodology, Italian data are used as a demonstration. Quadrant charts illustrate associations between how much regions spend on health and how effectively health system functions. The relevant inequality measures are used to rank health inequalities. Main results Frameworks have been presented to help communities, health professionals and others begin to better understand and address a variety of factors that affects health. Quadrant analysis technique shows the extent to which spending more on health, translates into better health outcomes, higher quality of care and improve access to care across the Italian regions, whilst also recognition the importance of major risk factors. Conclusions The social inequalities in health and what this means for how we understand and reduce them, as not to date been compressively examined empirically. There is an urgent need to expand our knowledge with comparable data on health determinants and more refined health outcomes. Furthermore, there is a need for feasible inequality measures in the health information systems. The measures used in this study, provide a step to inform and guide the uptake of equity-sensitive policies.

scholarly journals Social determinants of health in mental health care and research: a case for greater inclusion

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 895-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J Deferio ◽  
Scott Breitinger ◽  
Dhruv Khullar ◽  
Amit Sheth ◽  
Jyotishman Pathak
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Independent Risk Factors

Abstract Social determinants of health (SDOH) are known to influence mental health outcomes, which are independent risk factors for poor health status and physical illness. Currently, however, existing SDOH data collection methods are ad hoc and inadequate, and SDOH data are not systematically included in clinical research or used to inform patient care. Social contextual data are rarely captured prospectively in a structured and comprehensive manner, leaving large knowledge gaps. Extraction methods are now being developed to facilitate the collection, standardization, and integration of SDOH data into electronic health records. If successful, these efforts may have implications for health equity, such as reducing disparities in access and outcomes. Broader use of surveys, natural language processing, and machine learning methods to harness SDOH may help researchers and clinical teams reduce barriers to mental health care.

scholarly journals Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Harrington ◽  
Robert M. Califf ◽  
Appathurai Balamurugan ◽  
Nancy Brown ◽  
Regina M. Benjamin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Rural Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
American Heart Association ◽  
American Heart ◽  
Heart Association ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Rural Populations ◽  
Call To Action

Understanding and addressing the unique health needs of people residing in rural America is critical to the American Heart Association’s pursuit of a world with longer, healthier lives. Improving the health of rural populations is consistent with the American Heart Association’s commitment to health equity and its focus on social determinants of health to reduce and ideally to eliminate health disparities. This presidential advisory serves as a call to action for the American Heart Association and other stakeholders to make rural populations a priority in programming, research, and policy. This advisory first summarizes existing data on rural populations, communities, and health outcomes; explores 3 major groups of factors underlying urban-rural disparities in health outcomes, including individual factors, social determinants of health, and health delivery system factors; and then proposes a set of solutions spanning health system innovation, policy, and research aimed at improving rural health.

scholarly journals Addressing Social Needs in Health Care Settings: Evidence, Challenges, and Opportunities for Public Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew W. Kreuter ◽  
Tess Thompson ◽  
Amy McQueen ◽  
Rachel Garg
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Health Care Settings

There has been an explosion of interest in addressing social needs in health care settings. Some efforts, such as screening patients for social needs and connecting them to needed social services, are already in widespread practice. These and other major investments from the health care sector hint at the potential for new multisector collaborations to address social determinants of health and individual social needs. This article discusses the rapidly growing body of research describing the links between social needs and health and the impact of social needs interventions on health improvement, utilization, and costs. We also identify gaps in the knowledge base and implementation challenges to be overcome. We conclude that complementary partnerships among the health care, public health, and social services sectors can build on current momentum to strengthen social safety net policies, modernize social services, and reshape resource allocation to address social determinants of health. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 42 is April 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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