The Five Determinants Of Health

In past generations, the definition and awareness of public health was not as prominent in society as it is today. A 1947 definition by the World Health Organization explains health as the sum of physical, mental, and social wellbeing (Turncock,B, p.422). This definition is restricted to only one category of health. However, in recent definitions, health is expanded into two main categories: personal health and community. Personal health is the choices an individual partakes in while trying to achieve emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. Community health involves how people around an individual affect their health. The definition of health continually changes to encompass the relevance of issues that occur in each generation.
Greene and N. Gottleib, 1995). This definition goes against the norms of measuring health precisely. A spiritual factor is also introduced in current definitions. In class, we learned about five determinants of health: physical environment (air, water, weather, and disasters), built environment (second hand smoke, air pollution, and contaminated water), social environment (friendships, romantic relationships, religion, race, and wealth), health services (access to health care and ACA), individual behavior and genetics (exercise, drugs, and sleep). An example of a determinant of health was displayed through the digital story A Good Start: Bobby's Story. Bobby's story depicts the determinant of individual behavior and genetics because his revelation of knowing he has diabetes. He lacked a healthy lifestyle, which meant he did not exercise the amount he should have. The diabetes influenced Bobby's decision to start getting healthy by riding his bike. Bobby brought his community health by starting a bike club in the city he
More and more people are diagnosed with the disease. Diabetes is disease in which an individual's body does not produce enough insulin. Older generations tend to be the generation most diagnosed with diabetes compared to younger generations. Education of the disease was not yet known as much as today and it was not presented to this older generation. Some examples of determinants of health are evident in the expansions of diabetes. Social environment plays a big impact on the likelihood of a person becoming diabetic. According to the textbook, the larger a community is the more health problems occur (McKenzie, Pinger, and Seabert, 2018). In some cultures, food is the central connection within a family. Family gatherings are a time in which food that is served and consumed in unhealthy quantities. Due to the individual's relationship with the cook, the individual will feel obligated to eat all their food. Regardless of an individual's desire to eat healthy, they cannot because due to financial circumstances, they cannot afford healthy food. Fast food is easier to get and feeds more people. Unfortunately, minorities do not have access to good healthcare. Healthcare continually raise their prices for treatment and doctor visits. Families are forced to pick and choose who is the one to seek treatment first. Another reason to why diabetes has a high rate is the lack of sleep and exercise of an