Social Determinants Of Health Essay

Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that can spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released in the air when coughing or sneezing. There are several social determinants of health that can affect the spread of TB. Poverty, malnutrition and hunger are major social determinants that can affect the individual’s immune system making them more susceptible to infections and increase the severity of the clinical outcome. Symptomatic patients may delay seeking medical care due to social and economic barriers such as fear of stigmatization, lack of transportation and absence of family or social support system. Crowded and poorly ventilated living and working conditions, and communities can increase the risk of transmitting the infection to other individuals exposed to the infected person. Thus, TB is more common in urban areas than rural areas. Poverty is also associated with lack of health knowledge leading to risk of being exposed to risk factors such as HIV, substance abuse and smoking.
Public health has been working on various approaches to address TB and its social determinants of health. Social protection initiatives help reduce vulnerability to poverty, reduce the impact of economic shocks such as unemployment and illness, and
It improves air ventilation, housing space, and indoor pollution and thus decrease the risk of household TB transmission. These projects also improve the standard of living of the community and thereby increasing access to education, healthcare, transportation, markets and employment for its residents. For example, Community Managed Settlement Upgrading Project in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania helped the community members develop skills and education, find jobs through water vending and solid-waste management projects, and receive loans for home