The level of control an individual has on their own health
Individual health can be determined by a variety of factors acting in carious combinations
Derterminants
sociocultural
Family
A child is exposed to violence and abuse
in their home environment is likely to suffer
long term physical, emotional and social
well-being than a child living in a pleasant
and supportive home environment.
Peers
Peers can influence the decisions the decisions
people make. e.g. If your peers drink and take drugs
you are influenced to experiment which can impact
negatively on health. Although your peers could play a
lot of sport which influences you to join a team and
play to which is a positive influence.
Media
Newspapers, TV and the internet can inform people to
take action on their health to avoid diseases. E.g. Slip,
Slap, Slop was produced to inform people about skin
cancer, However the media can also create stereo-types
which can impact on an individuals body image in a
negative way as they may feel depressed cause they do
not look the same as the images in magazines.
Religion/ Culture
Beliefs can influence peoples decisions/ behnaviours
which can affect their level of health. e.g. Food, sexual
activiety and drug use. Muslims partticipate in Ramadan
which affects their food choice are they are not allowed
to eat in daylight. This can result in people not eating
which can make them feel fatigued etc. However beliefs
can benefit a persons spirituality and well-being by
adding meaning to their life.
Socioeconomic
Education
Enables people to gain knowledge on health
issues and increases their understanding of
protective and risk behaviours. Education also
enhances employment opportunities, which
provides them with a good socioeconomic
status. Homeless people usually have low levels
of education as they have not been able to get a
job and do not know where to seek support
durring tough times. Instead many of them will
waste their money on drugs and alcohol.
Employment
Employment provides opportunities to
be active and interact with others while
at the same time being financially
stable. Being unemployed affects a
person's confidence, limits their social
contacts and the individual may also
feel depressed and disempowered.
The type of employment can also
impact on an indivduals health. e.g. A
labourer will work long hours with lots
of physical activiety which can increase
fitness. Were as someone who works
long hours at a computer and desk isn't
getting the right amount of exercise
they need, hence they may put on
weight.
Income
Those with higher incomes are able to spend
their money on health related products
(vitamins), services (phycology), recreational
activities, quality food and private health
issurance. These people have a higher sense of
confidense as they can fford whatever they need
which decreases stress and provides them with
control over their life. Howver those with a low
income or no income are subject to many risks as
they are restricted to health services, quality food
and safe and secure housing. This adds to stress
and creates a low self-esteem which may result in
drug use, binge drinking etc.
Individual
Attitudes
Attitudes link to knowledge. Eg. A
person with knowledge about the
detrimental affects of smoking will
likely have the attitude the smoking is
bad and therefore will reframe from
putting themselves at risk. However
someone could have the attitude of 'it
will never happen to me' which means
they will continue smoking which will
increase their chances of illnesses e.g.
Lung cancer.
Genetics
Potential to achieve a
certain level of health
is based upon an
individuals genetics.
E.g. A girl who's
grandmother has breast
cancer is at increased
rick of getting breast
cancer which will then
impact on their health
severely.
Knowledge + Skills
Knowledge + Skills enable us to act
in ways that benefit our health. E.g.
We are able to make healthy
choices such as eat nutritional
foods and exercise. Health literacy
also enables people to asses the
accuracy on the information they
find. Visa-Versa for people who do
not have knowledge. This can
result in people with becoming
overweight as they do not know
how to make healthy everyday
decisions.
Envitonmental
Access to health
services + technology
Health care options for people in remote areas are less
than those in urrban areas. These options include;
supportive groups, hospitals, dentists etc. An indivdual who
lives in a remote area may have to travel hours to visit a
doctor. This can be hard for that person as they may not be
able to drive or if they do it is very costly due to petrol
which means that the person will sat at home and not get
their treatment or checkup. This is dangerous to their health
as they could have a life-threatening disease which by the
time they do get it cheacked out its to late to treat.
Technology also impacts on a persons health significantly
as it effects the amount of physical activity someone
participates in. An individual who lives in the city with
reception for mobile phones and internet is very likely to
spend a lot of time consumed in the viral world which will
limit the amount of physical activity they participate in.
Factors that influence health and physical activity
Non-modifiable
Age
Age cannot ruin health,
however as you get older you
do become more prone to
illnesses and disease e.g.
arthritis
Gender
Your gender can put you at
risk of ilnesses and diseases.
E.g. If you are female you
can get Cervical Cancer
whereas men can get
Testicular Cancer
Race/ethnicity
Health promblems such
as diseases can be more
prone to certain races/
ethnic groups e.g. African
decent are more prone to
sickle cell anemia
Genetics/
Family history
An individals chance of
developing a certain disease
or illness is increased if
someone in their family has
had it e.g. breast cancer
Perceptions
Perceptions of health
as a social construct
Everyone has a different
opinion to what it means to
be healthy and how to be
healthy
Impact of family,
media and peers
Media: Magazines present skinny, tall,
tanned girls which many teenagers aspire
to look like. Although these images are
photoshopped an individual may go to
extreme lengths( exercise excessively,
diet, expose skin to sun) to look alike. This
is not healthy and can eventually lead to
health problems such a anerexia. Although
the media can also inform people about
safe behaviour in order to prevent illness
and diseases e.g. Swap it campaign
Peers: Your peers can influence you
positively by behaving safelty and not
putting their health at risk, or they can
encourage risk taking behaviour such
as taking drugs, drinking, tanning etc.
which will impact negatively on your
health
Family: If your are brought up in a family with
a good socioeconmic status that values
health, your are more likely to appreciate your
own health and not put it at risk. However if an
individual is brought up by people who smoke,
drink, take drugs and eat fast food due to a
low socioeconomic status you are likely to
grow up thinking those behaviours are ok
which results into no respect for your health.
Implications of
different perceptions
of health
Other peoples perception on
health can influence an
individuals life-style choices
and behaviours
Perceptions of their own
health (Individual holistic)
Modifiable
Attitudes
Events and experiences can change
someones attitude to health. This can
be positive of negative. E.g. someone
who has had skin cancer may value
their health more now and take action
such as staying out of the sun and
putting sunscreen on to protect their
skin and prevent skin cancer.
However someone who has not been
affected my severe health problems
e.g. skin cancer may have the attitude
that 'it will never happen to me'
therefore they they don't take action to
reduce the risk of getting it. e.g.
exposing their skin to the sun.
Socioeconomic
status
If you do not have a great
socioeconomic status you can
modify that by gaining further
education which will help your
chances of employment and
increase income. However this
may be hard for people with a low
economic status e.g. Aboriginies
Life style
Physical
Activiety
By exercising more and participating in sport it is
likely that you will increase your fitness. This can also
help with loosing weight if you are overweight. Although
this can be costly (joining gym) and it may be hard/
time consuming to find exercise groups.
Diet/ Nutritional habits
Modifying your diet such as consuming
more nutrients and cutting fatty/ sugary
foods will improve your health and prevent
certain diseases e.g. Diabetes. However
eating healthily is more expensive than
cheap fast foods, therefore low
socioeconomic groups may find this hard.
Drug
consumption
Different life stages
Health and physical activiety as socially constructed
Interelationships of determinants
Determinants interrelate with oneanother
Individual and socioeconomic
Low SES limits the
individuals ability to
buy healthy products
and serrvices
Individual and environmental
Lack of social networks due to
geographic location could be overcome
by developing skills in information and
communication technology.
Individual and
sociocultural
Personal identity is
closely linked to
culural identity. The
way an individual
interprets and
responds to cultural
background can have
a protective or harmful
influence on their
health.
Environmental and sociocultural
Income and wealth have a big
influence ib where a person lives, so
groups who share common
environments often share common
characteristics.
Individual responsibility
Can control
Modifiable factors: e.g.
Socioeconomic status,
physical activity, diet,
drug consumption
Can't control
Non-modifiable factors e.g. Age,
gender, race, genetics
Government
The government has the responsibility to
provide education, employment opportunities
and medical facilities to groups in society
e.g. Indigenous Australians.
Factors
Enabling factors: factors that support
the behaviour e.g. availability of fast
food outlets promoting consumption of
these fatty foods.
Predisposing factors: Factors that increase the
likelihood of the behaviour e.g. parents are
overweight which influences the family to be
non-active
Reinforcing factors: factors the help the
behaviour continue. . e.g. No suitable role
models to encourage a healthy diet and
regular exercise.
Different groups of people experience
different circumstances which results in a
diverse range of opinions to what health is.