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Trujillo 1 Felisia Trujillo Professor Lehman SOC 102 28 July 2020 Final Essay According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, social determinants of health are conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age (Artiga and Hinton 2). They include factors like employment, neighborhood and physical environment, socioeconomic status, social support networks, and access to health care (Artiga and Hinton 2). Social determinants of health, also known as SDoH, is very important to address because it helps improve health as well as reduce disparities in health and health care. Addressing social determinants of health is also important for achieving health equity. Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible without discrimination. Examples of social determinants of health include quality of schools, housing, and social norms and attitudes. Education is a significant social determinant that influences health over the course of a lifetime. An individual’s health is highly correlated with his or her social position, and success in schools and years of schooling are major factors in determining social and occupational status in adulthood (B. Low and D. Low). In other words, students who are healthy are more likely to succeed in school than those who aren’t healthy. It’s important that children have access to good health providers so that they’re in the position to live a healthier and longer life. Although individuals can lose reliable housing for a number of reasons, poverty is a huge issue leading to homelessness. Access to safe, quality, affording housing is one of the most powerful social determinants of health. Supportive housing enables those who are homeless to get

Trujillo 2 off the streets and to focus on more important factors of their life such as health. Selected housing interventions for low-income people have been found to improve health outcomes and decrease health care costs. Racial discrimination could harm the health of individuals of all socioeconomic levels. Living in a society with a strong legacy of racial discriminations leads to those not to have longterm negative health outcomes. Every day, discrimination taps into more ongoing and routine experiences of unfair treatment. According to HealthyPeople.gov, “discrimination can be understood as a social stressor that has a physiological effect on individuals such as irregular heartbeat, anxiety, and heartburn. Adding on, school children who enroll in low quality schools with limited health resources, increased safety concerns, and low teacher support are more likely to have poorer physical and mental health. Discrimination as a social determinant of health is not okay and something needs to be done about it. Living in the United States and being a minority, I’m prone to racial discrimination. For the past couple of years, I’ve dealt with anxiety. I’m constantly watching my surroundings, making sure that I surround myself in a safe environment. Simply because of what I look like, many people don’t like me. There are those who don’t even know who I am yet, they’re quick to judge me. Suffering with anxiety has a huge negative impact on my mental health. I have a hard time concentrating in school with the amount of anxiety I have. Growing up, I’ve always thought that I wasn’t good enough to succeed in life because I wasn’t white. I’m pretty sure many minorities have this mindset and that’s the reason why many minorities are scared to higher their education. Although I am racially discriminated against on a daily basis, I began to understand that nothing can’t stop me from succeeding in life but myself. I was able to graduate high school a semester early and get a whole year of college done before graduating. I’m extremely proud of all of the

Trujillo 3 accomplishments I’ve made and I’m very excited to see what the future holds me despite all of the craziness that’s happening in the world.

Trujillo 4 Artiga, Samantha, and Elizabeth Hinton. “Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity.” Kaiser Family Foundation, 9 July 2019, www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/beyond-health-care-the-role-of-socialdeterminants-in-promoting-health-and-health-equity/.

Low, Barbara J., and M. David Low. “Education and Education Policy as Social Determinants of Health.” Journal of Ethics | American Medical Association, American Medical Association, 1 Nov. 2006, journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/education-and-education-policy-socialdeterminants-health/2006-11.

“Discrimination Healthy People 2020.” HealthyPeople.gov, www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives/topic/social-determinants-health/interventions-resources/discrimination....