Social determinants of health and how they affect the delivery of healthcare to patients
Social determinants of health refer to factors in the life of an individual or a community that affect how they perceive healthcare and thus its delivery (Armenakis & Kiefer, 2007). Among the major social factors that influence the delivery of healthcare is education. Education usually provides one with the necessary information to make informed decisions about their health. Research has shown that educated people visit their doctor or health facilities more often than their uneducated counterparts. This means that it is easier for the authorities to disburse medicines, information and even carry out surveys via health facilities thus quality healthcare to the people.
Another factor that influences the delivery of healthcare is religion. People of various religious beliefs have different perceptions of healthcare that influence its delivery. For instance, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in having blood transfusions forcing medical practitioners to look for other means of treating them other than transfusion. Some religions shun medical care completely thus affecting community healthcare programs in the area such as vaccinations for children ( Mosadeghrad, 2014).
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The socioeconomic status of an individual also greatly affects healthcare delivery. Individuals with low incomes tend to rely heavily on the State to provide healthcare for them forcing the government to heavily subsidize medical care which ultimately affects its delivery. High-income individuals can afford private healthcare thus freeing government funds that would have been used to subsidize their healthcare for use in other programs aimed at enhancing the quality and delivery of healthcare in the area (Armenakis & Kiefer, 2007).
Is diversity in one’s workplace important, why or why not? How might diversity influence interprofessional relationships?
Technology and migration have made the world more diverse with people from many different cultures having to interact with each other either in their workplaces or homes. Diversity in the workplace may be in terms of culture, race and even sexuality among others (Page, 2017). When people from various diversities interact regularly, they get to learn more about the other people who are different from them, understand their behaviors, and know how to live with them in harmony. Diversity in the workplace enables colleagues to understand each other more building tolerance and harmony within the team. In today’s world where businesses are aiming at expanding into other areas of the world, workplace diversity prepares employees on how to receive, interact, and understand the cultures and behaviors of the people in the different areas of the world where the company may be expanding to.
After examining the "Iceberg of Diversity" picture: Discuss how your interaction or view of other healthcare professionals may or may not change if you learned new information about previously unknown cultural aspects of their lives?
Culture plays a big role in shaping how people act and also their perception of various issues that affect their lives. Learning about previously unknown cultural aspects of a colleague may enable one to understand why the colleague thinks or acts as they do. This could promote tolerance and understanding towards the workmate as their thinking process is better understood. It is possible to trace behaviors, decisions and even ambitions of an individual to their culture as it affects nearly every aspect of their life therefore a revelation of a certain cultural aspect of an individual can change one’s view of other healthcare professionals (Okoro & Washington, 2012), e.g. learning that a colleague was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness may help one understand the workmate’s reservations on using surgery as a means of treating disease.
References
Armenakis A. & Kiefer C. (2007). Social & Cultural Factors Related to Health Part A: Recognizing the Impact. Global Health Education Consortium. Retrieved from https://www.cugh.org/sites/default/files/13_Social_And_Cultural_Factors_Related_To_Health_Part_A_Recognizing_The_Impact_-_Copy_0.pdf
Mosadeghrad A. M. (2014). Factors influencing healthcare service quality. International journal of health policy and management , 3 (2), 77–89. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2014.65
Okoro, E. A., & Washington, M. C. (2012). Workforce Diversity And Organizational Communication: Analysis Of Human Capital Performance And Productivity. Journal of Diversity Management (JDM) , 7 (1), 57-62. https://doi.org/10.19030/jdm.v7i1.6936
Page S. E. (2017). The Diversity Bonus : How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy, Princeton University Press,
