DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND EDUCATION AS

SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH

INTRODUCTION TO DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH:

Social determinants of health, this is a very important concept to understand because its
impact on the health of individuals and of populations. Health is quite variable, not just
between individuals but also across different population groups.
Within a population, health is also influenced by social status, people with higher
income, a higher level of education and a better occupation have better health and a
greater life expectancy.
A person's health is influenced by a range of factors called determinants of health. These
include;
 who they are?
 Individual factors: Age, sex and genetic makeup
o what they do?
 Health behaviors: Smoking, physical activity, alcohol use and diet
o Conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These include their
social and community networks
The socioeconomic cultural and environmental conditions that people live in and also
health systems these are collectively called the social determinants of health.
The social determinants of health are ultimately shaped by the distribution of money,
power and resources. At an international, national and local level, they have a marked
influence on health inequities which is the unfair and avoidable health differences
between different groups of people within countries or between countries.
EDUCATION AS SOCIAL DETRMINANT OF HEALTH:

“To develop the education the world so desperately needs and to ensure that
learning never stops.”
People who have access to quality education throughout their lives tend to stay
healthier than people who don’t. Not only does education give individuals a chance at
upward mobility, which places them in better financial circumstances to access quality
health care, it also keeps them better informed about how to take care of their health.
For example, an individual with a college degree may have better skills to evaluate
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conflicting or complex information they read on the internet about how to care for their
prediabetes.
Less education is linked to lower income, which is linked to poorer health. Numerous
studies show that people in lower socioeconomic situations experience more obesity,
asthma, diabetes, heart disease and other health problems than people in better financial
circumstances.
Additionally, a recent study also shows higher education helps individuals secure higher
paying work with fewer safety risks. Ultimately, more highly educated people have
greater economic resources to afford things like better housing and expert doctors.
Today, as the world is shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic more than 80% of students
worldwide have been affected by school closures, causing an unprecedented global
interruption to education.
Besides providing an education, schools are important to young people's health and
wellbeing as spaces for social and emotional development, physical exercise, safety, and
a lifeline for those from poor, violent, or abusive households. It was observed that during
the lockdown, the incidence of child abuse and neglect is suspected to have increased in
some places, yet has fallen in other, probably reflecting the loss of monitoring via
schools.
School closures for such a long period of time could have disastrous social and health
consequences for children, and will probably amplify existing inequalities, widen the gap
in educational accomplishment between pupils, and even undo previous progress.
CONCLUSION:
Addressing the social determinants of health is not an easy task. It involves identifying
the structural and intermediate determinants of health and taking appropriate actions to
improve them. This requires actions across all sectors of society and these actions will
depend on the existing socioeconomic and political context resources that are available
and commitment for action.

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Author: FARYAL KHAN