SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE ACCESS AS SOCIAL

DETERMINANT OF HEALTH
Author: Dr. kanwal khan
MSPH Batch 11

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH:

The social determinants of health are the conditions in which we are born, live, work, play, and
age, and which can affect a broad range of health outcomes including the likelihood of
contracting a disease or of dying by a certain age. In public health contexts, these conditions are
often referred to as the “places” that impact health.
Social determinants of health have a direct impact on health at a personal level, community
level, as well as national level. And they are found to have a greater impact on the health and
well-being of people than medical care, biology, and behavior amongst other important factors.
They also affect the kind of access that people have to things that can help them achieve
optimal health. The only factor that is a bigger contributor to illness and death at a global level,
than factors like smoking, diabetes, alcohol, physical inactivity, and obesity amongst others, is
the socioeconomic status of people.
Social determinants of health fall into 5 broad groups: Healthcare, Economic stability,
Education, Social and community life.
HEALTHCARE ACCESS AS SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH
From which difference of overall healthcare access is striking when you compare people and
communities more significantly affected by the social determinants of health.
This encompasses a person’s access to healthcare and its quality. Factors include:

o Access to primary healthcare

o Health insurance coverage

o Health literacy
Access to quality healthcare has always been an issue. People who need healthcare services the
most don’t get timely or any access to them. Access to primary health care, a regular source of
care that detects and treats diseases and provides preventative services, is an important part of
staying well. The primary objective of healthcare systems is to ensure timely and effective
delivery of care to individuals as well as communities that they are supposed to cater to.
Healthcare systems often run on very small margins but still manage to provide care to the
economically underprivileged people in the society, most of whom are either are not covered at
all under any insurance or have very limited access to quality care as a result of underinsurance.
However, when barriers, such as inadequate health insurance coverage or a shortage of care
providers prevent people from getting these services, health suffers.

One way of overcoming this gap is by bringing more easily accessible and at the same time
affordable healthcare technology into the mix. The journey towards automation and
digitalization has already begun in the healthcare industry. And with the advancement in
technology, healthcare establishments are in a better position to promise improved care,
irrespective of social determinants of health. Technology that is developed keeping into
consideration social determinants of health, as well as socioeconomic and sociodemographic
factors, can be more efficient in providing access to quality care to all people, regardless of their
location, age, income, ethnicity, and education amongst other things.

Also, one other thing that empowers people to care for their own health is Health literacy, or
the ability to obtain and understand health information, is an important tool. Individuals who
understand various health risks and the precautions that can reduce those risks can better
safeguard themselves. This can be improved vastly by running social media and print media
campaigns to bring awareness among the masses.
In conclusion, the biggest need for healthcare organizations right now is to address social
determinants of health when building their quality care and healthcare services strategy. This is
one of the many issues that are stopping people from gaining access to optimal health
solutions. Organizations need to work with their tech partners to develop and prioritize
healthcare solutions that are in line with social determinants of health. The objective of building
any such solution should always be to deliver affordable healthcare.