Health is one of the most critical basic needs of human beings. A healthy society is very productive, thus sustaining their lives and contributing to a nation’s economic growth. Health begins in our schools, neighborhoods, homes, communities, and workplaces. Our health is influenced by not smoking, taking care of ourselves, doctor visits when we are not feeling well, screening tests, eating well, taking recommended immunizations, and remaining active. However, these are not the only determinants of good health but also access to economic and social opportunities (Megnan, 2017). Such opportunities include the quality of education, our workplaces' safety, our social relationships, and the nature and purity of food, air, and water. Available supportive systems with the neighborhoods we live in, communities, and homes significantly affect how healthy or unhealthy an individual is. A combination of demographic and social factors explains why some of Florida's residents are healthier than others or vice versa.
The most vulnerable group in Florida regarding access to health care and living healthy lives are seasonal farmers and migrants. They have lousy living standards where they have to work extra hard to feed their families. With a low level of income due to the inaccessibility of quality jobs for the group, it is almost impossible for them to access quality healthcare services (Zeglin, 2019). Most of them are uneducated due to their backgrounds, thus lacking the knowledge to significant contributors of a healthy being. Lack of education also limits their chances of landing proper jobs and making the right financial decisions. Farming is the seasonal thus requires individuals to make proper financial decisions to cater for the future when farming is off-season. This leads to living under quality lives where their nutrition isn’t good, which puts their health at risk. Working conditions in farms are bad where an individual can get injured easily and, since the income earned is low, cannot access health care. The language barrier is a significant issue that restricts an individual from expressing what they feel regarding health conditions. Most migrants cannot communicate using English which limits many doctors from diagnosing and giving the proper medication.
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In Florida, health insurance is expensive as even the middle-class struggle in paying it. Most of the migrants in Florida have basic jobs where incomes are meager, forcing them to work two shifts a day to afford essential bills such as housing, food, and water. As a result, very few or even none can afford the health insurance covers, exposing them to significant health risk. The vulnerable communities, especially migrants and African-Americans, are subject to racism and discrimination in workplaces or within society. They are rendered incapable, leading to fewer chances of having a quality life where they will take care of themselves, get immunized, and proper nutrition. Interval health checkups are highly recommended since they help identify disease at its initial stages, a package included in most insurance covers. The vulnerable communities cannot attend such checkups since some are homeless while others cants afford a meal. High levels of poverty in vulnerable individuals' communities lead to depression, one of the killer diseases today.
These groups are tough to reach in Florida, thus requiring extra efforts such as language interpretation, special training, deployment of health teams that are mobile and aggressive outreach. Upon identifying the problem, the Florida government has made efforts to fund healthcare activities that reach vulnerable groups. To enable access to healthcare services and activities that help individuals be healthy, five key factors are essential, including education at all required levels, community and society context where there is equality and social cohesion, economic stability, including food security and employment (Taylor et al., 2016). Additionally, access to healthcare services, living healthy lives, quality built environment and neighborhoods are significant contributors to social and demographic health determinants.
References
Magnan, S. (2017). Social determinants of health 101 for health care: five plus five. NAM Perspectives .
Taylor, L. A., Tan, A. X., Coyle, C. E., Ndumele, C., Rogan, E., Canavan, M., ... & Bradley, E. H. (2016). Leveraging the social determinants of health: what works?. PloS one , 11 (8), e0160217.
Zeglin, R. J., Niemela, D. R., & Baynard, C. W. (2019). Deaths of despair in Florida: Assessing the role of social determinants of health. Health Education & Behavior , 46 (2), 329-339.
