Social Determinants Of Health: A Case Study

Health is essential to living a comfortable and fulfilling life, however it’s not granted to everyone as health is determined by various economic and social factors, also known as social determinants of health. Social determinants of health affect the health of the individual, communities and jurisdiction as a whole; consequently it is in charge of determining the extent to which a person can access physical, social and personal resources to health (Hobbs & Rice 2013, p.456). Understanding social determinants of health will help human service providers such as Social Workers to have greater awareness of how structural system and social context creates patterns of inequalities for certain population, resulting in poor health (Sowers & Dulmus
however the overarching determinant on a structural level that continues to oppress Aboriginal children is racism. Racism is correlated and entrenched within the history of Australia, starting from the time of colonisation (Priest, Mackean, Davis, Waters, & Briggs, 2012). Griffiths, Coleman, Lee, & Madden (2016) describes that social injustice occurs in the context of colonisation which is to forcibly takeover Indigenous people’s land without any respect to their laws and rights. Furthermore, for the Indigenous community, health isn’t just about being physically immune from diseases, but rather health is seen as a holistic notion that is achieved through the wellbeing of the land, the community and spirit. The colonisation process however separated them from this holistic wellbeing and its implications are manifested through various health related issues in children and youth (Griffiths, Coleman, Lee, & Madden, 2016). In a study done with parents perspective on their children’s experiences with racism, one parent named Bob emphasised that Aboriginal people cope with day to day survival dude to colonisation that has resulted in the diminishing of majority of the Aboriginal community in South East Australia. Other parent’s responded that colonisation has negatively influenced the self-esteem on their children in regards to how they saw themselves in respect to others
This is because racism continues to be embedded within the system which influences their access to education, employment and housing (Australian Government, 2013). Consequently, children began to experience deteriorating health such as excessive rate of eye and ear infections resulting in preventable diseases such as Trachoma and Otitis media. Children are also more likely to be born with low birth rate, weighing less than 2.500 grams than their non-Indigenous counterparts, consequently they are two to three times more likely to die before their first birthday (Couzos, 2016). All of these health outcomes are influenced by inequality in social determinants such as housing; sufficient house quality can also influence heath conditions as overcrowding can lead to infections ear and eye diseases. Overcrowding is a common phenomenon, with the average people living in Indigenous household being at 3.4, whereases other Australian households are at 2.6 people. It has been reported that over 16% of the houses considered as poor quality have Indigenous children living in them. These homes have poor water system and improper hygiene which only heightens the rate of infectious disease spreading, making it difficult to engage in school. Furthermore, education is another determinant of health