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HEALTH DETERMINANTS

Running head: HEALTH DETERMINANTS 1

HEALTH DETERMINANTS 3

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Health determinants in Austin, TX

Name

Institution

Austin, Texas demographic trend

Austin is fast changing as an urban area and a city. In the recent past, the city of Austin as no ethnic or demographic groups which exists as a majority in the city population. This means there has been increased in racial and ethnic groups. In 2000, in Texas, the population was 20,851,820, this population increase to 25,145, 561 by 2010 and in 2016 this city had 27,862,596 people. The statistics show that the state has experienced a 10.8% increase in population between 2000 and 2016. The survey conducted shows that there has been a decrease in families-with children share (Austin Public Health, 2017). Citywide, the trend is the same in general number of families-with-children which has gone up whereas share of houses from families-with-children has reduced. What this implies is that the increase in population and reduction in share put a strain on health care providers.

Considering the increase in population, in the foreseeable future, the city health care burden will continue to increase and the city inability to shoulder the cost will increase. It is interesting to note that the Austin region is continuing to experience an increase in urban sprawl. There is less land available surrounding Austin.

Weakness

Social and environmental factors affect the health of the people in Austin. These factors include safe housing, job opportunities, green space, access to education and public safety. The social determinants of health affect people and addressing the same can reduce health disparities. In Austin, the poverty rate is 16.0 %. Studies associate poverty with health risks such as physical inactivity and lack of health insurance (Robinson, 2017). Poverty is also considered as contributing factors to mental and stress health. Also, the survey showed that a quarter of the adults in Austin do not have health insurance. One of out of 6 people forgoes seeing a medic because of cost. To this end, affordability and access to health care is a barrier to care

Strength

· Centers of recreation. Through community input, there are several access to parks, recreation centers and trails. Other areas are unfortunate and lack infrastructures, services and facilities which support well-being.

· Nutrition class: there is a commonly known strength of free fitness and nutrition class provided in the community. Focus groups shared about free screening. Several clinics have been integrated with services such as mental health care and gyms.

· The economy: looking at the kind of structures in Austin, there are some developments. People are relatively business and this an indication of a reduced rate of unemployment. Moreover, comparing this place to other neighborhoods, Austin is a healthy place to live. There is an affordable and healthy food nearby.

Health disparities

The health disparities in the US are great. In Austin in particular, they are found across the populations. Many of the health difference appear early in life and they increase as people progress with life and these can disrupt the ideal developmental trajectories and the access to other opportunities. The health difference are possibly rooted in many factors such as a difference in access to public healthcare, individual behaviors, for instance, diet and physical activity, social factors also determine the health aspects of the people and some social issues including education, poverty and income. Finally, the quality of social and physical environment also determine the quality of health of the mass (ODPHP, 2016). The social determinants of health which could be identified during the windscreen survey include poverty, education, gender, race and ethnicity. These factors influence

· The development of illness

· Healthcare outcome

· Ability to get and use healthcare.

In the medical field, nurses are likely to be confronted by patients social and demographics situation such as language barriers, poverty and lack of health insurance cover (Cohen & Martinez, 2014). Pieces of research show that these aspects limit the quality of health and the equity of service delivery.

Factors which impact the patients’ health and clinical results such as smoking status, prolonged disease controlling and preventative care measure are all influenced by social elements of health and they influence fight against diseases. This means that health workers will need to consider different approach to care for patients. The level of income, education and economic stability affects the patient health and well-being. These factors also determine how people use medical care. It is believed that patients with low income are more expected to have chronic ailments because of social difficulties and increased susceptibility.

The sexual category is a significant social determinant of risk factors for many sicknesses in the US. The threat factors for neck and head squamous cell carcinomas, great risk sexual behaviors and smoking pattern vary based on gender. Moreover, besides mastering these social determinants, physical determinant like geography and environment are important. The physical environment determines allergen contact, capacity to exercise and other aspects which lead to illness.

Conclusion

Determinants are factors which contribute to a personal state of health. These factors include socioeconomic, biological, psychological and behavioral issues. Through the windscreen survey, it was evident that the population in Austin in Texas has five health determinants and these include (1) biological factors such as sex and age, (2) individual actions like drugs use, unsafe sex and smoking, (3) social background which include earning, and (4) physical environment which is basically where people (Braveman & Egerter, 2011). These factors need to be addressed for the city to achieve improved health care.

References Austin Public Health. (2017, September). Community Health Assessment Austin/Travis County. Retrieved August 09, 2018, from http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/CHA-CHIP/ATC_CHA_DRAFT_09_26_17__002_.pdf Braveman, P., & Egerter, S. (2011). Broadening the focus: The need to address the social determinants of health. Journal of Preview medication, 40, 4–18. Cohen, R., & Martinez, M. (2014, June). Health insurance coverage: Early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey. Retrieved August 09, 2018, from National Center for Health Statistics.: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur201506.pdf ODPHP. (2016). Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved August 09, 2018, from Healthy People 2020. Social determinants of health.: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health. Robinson, R. (2017). Austin Demographics trends. Retrieved August 09, 2018, from City of Austin: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/top-ten-demographic-trends-austin-texas

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