Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to increase your knowledge of the link between social determinants of health (SDOH) and a high priority health issue with a global perspective.
Overview
Several factors come together to create an individual’s health status. The conditions in which people are born, live, work, and age can be as influential in determining an individual’s health status as the quality of diagnosis and treatment. Health care professionals need to understand the influence of these underlying conditions to deliver the best health care possible. A good example of how these factors are intertwined is the Carter Center’s work in eradicating the guinea worm in Africa and Asia. To quote from the website:
When The Carter Center began leading the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease in 1986, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in at least 21 countries in Africa and Asia. Today, that number has been reduced by more than 99.99 percent. In 2020, 27* human cases of Guinea worm disease were reported worldwide. Between January 1 and June 30 of 2021 five human cases have been reported. https://www.cartercenter.org
One of the major strategies used to reach this goal was teaching individuals to filter drinking water and to not go into water if infected. This was difficult for several reasons: (a) lack of health care practitioners in the largely rural area, (b) the insecurity in some areas related to conflict, and (c) cost of filtration equipment. The coordination of effort across several organizations led to the success.
The group of factors included in the SDOH are: (a) economic stability, (b) education access and quality, (c) social and community context, (d) health care access and quality, (e) neighborhood and built environment. Review the resources listed in the Instructional Materials for this module to learn more about the SDOH.
Instruction
The focus of this assignment is to strengthen your understanding of the impact of at least one of the social determinants of health on a priority health issue in one of the countries listed below.
Choose from one of the following countries:
- Sierra Leone
- Haiti
- Pakistan
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Afghanistan
You will write a 2.5-3 page, double-spaced (~750 words) essay addressing the following:
- Provide a brief description of the country you have selected. This may include information on the size of the population; median income; geography/topography; cultural and/or religious influences, etc.)
- Identify one priority health issue in the chosen country. Describe the global health indicators you are using to identify the priority health issue (ie., life expectancy; maternal and infant mortality; child malnutrition, such as stunting, wasting, and underweight; infectious disease and mortality; vaccination coverage; health worker density, etc.) https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators
- Provide a brief description of the concept of SDOH.
- Identify the SDOH that has the most impact on the identified health issue in the selected country.
- Explain the link between the SDOH and the identified healthcare priority. It is possible that more than one of the SDOH categories will be applicable (you only have to include one).
- Include a minimum of three (3) references. One (1) reference must be a scholarly article. References must be no more than five (5) years old.
- The paper will contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
- An appropriately formatted student paper title page must be included.
- Click on the link titled “M4 A1: SDOH IMPACT ANALYSIS SUBMISSION AREA” to submit the assignment.
- Points: 30
- Due: See Course Calendar/Checklist