Solution
Rimsha answered on
Sep 16 2021
Running Head: IMPACT OF SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH & POLICIES 1
IMPACT OF SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH & POLICIES 11
IMPACT OF SOCIAL DETERMINANT OF HEALTH AND POLICIES ON CASE SCENARIO 3
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Impact of Social Determinant of Health on Ageing 3
Socioeconomic and Cultural Factors 4
Housing 5
Belongingness 6
National Legal and Policy Framework Relevant to Ageing and Their Relationship to International Trends 7
International Policy and Legal Framework 7
Domestic Policy and Legal Framework 8
Policies in Managing and Prevention of Chronic Diseases in Older Population 9
Conclusion 10
References 11
Introduction
Ageing is the phenomenon of getting older. People, above the age of 50 years, start showing the visible signs of ageing such as loosening of the skin, impairing of the vital organs of the body. Although, ageing is a gradual process that takes place continuously, yet the period, when the first signs of ageing are expressed until the last programmed death of the individual, establishes itself as the older age of the individual. During the process of ageing, an individual undergoes many levels of transitions; these levels either occur in series or occur simultaneously depending on the situation.
It has been seen that the phases of the transition include retirement from the job, grievance of the death of spouse or family member, changes in the body, pain of dying and finally death. Ageing has a very deep impact on the lives of the people experiencing it. People undergo psychosocial and economical changes. The lack of jobs in older age imposes financial constraints on the lives of the ageing people. Most of their earned or saved money are spent on their medicines or treatment, which prevents them from using their earnings for other personal use.
The older people often suffer from old age depression and dementia as their age progresses. They restrict themselves from participating in social life. Some of them feel like relaxing in this period, whereas others have difficulty in survival due to many social determinants of health such as housing, transport and income. As per the case study, Peter is a 75-year-old man who is taking care of his diabetic and visually impaired wife. Peter is an independent man who takes care of his dependent wife with pride.
Impact of Social Determinant of Health on Ageing
Social determinants of health can be defined as the social factors or characteristics, in which influence the life or social conditions of the people. There are many factors, which act as the social determinants of health such as cultural factor, economic factor, psychological factor, behavior factor, housing and community network. They are helpful in finding the key factors responsible for the root cause of the health issues that human beings face.
As suggested by Thornton et al. (2016), there are various social determinants of health, which affect the active ageing of the population. These social determinants of health include income, transport, belonging, housing, and community network. It is necessary to note that all the social determinants of health are connected to one another. The influence of poverty is very high on other factors. For example, older people suffering from poverty fail to get the proper housing facilities and health care accessibility, which is why, they are often disowned in the society resulted in poor ageing.
Socioeconomic and Cultural Factors
Social status of the individual influences their economic condition. As mentioned by Czaja, Boot, Charness and Rogers (2019), people, who belong to the high statuses in the society, do not have any hardships during their old age. This is because these people are mostly educated and they have a strong financial status, which help them in enjoying active ageing. On the contrary, people, who have faced poverty, fail to access the education or have faced difficulty of survival during the young age, do not feel any positive change of life in their ageing period. Despite their age, they are forced to work in their older age to survive the ageing period.
As noted by Jin, Simpkins, Ji, Leis and Stambler (2015), the income of the older adult people become half as most of them are retired and become dependent on their pension to survive. People who retire from higher positions of their jobs, get high pension, and have their provident fund, which make them enjoy this phase of rest. Nevertheless, people, who belong to the lower income group, have to spend their money very cautiously as they are surviving on their very limited income.
On the other hand, homeless elders or very poor older populations are dependent on the government funds or policies to spend their last age. It has been seen that income has a very high impact of ageing. People from economically rich background take this period to relax in their lives; with most of them taking early retirement. On the contrary, people, with less financial security, if are forced to retire, then they often get depressed and feel worthless. They may undergo depression. As per the case study, Peter is an independent person who is able to take care of her wife as he has a secured financial factor. On the other hand, Shirley is completely dependent on her husband for financial aid.
Housing
Housing is a very crucial factor, which affects the active ageing of the individual. As mentioned by Brown et al. (2015), people who have good housing...