Healthcare Improvements and Social Determinants

Historical analysis of health care information indicates that an increase in life expectancy in recent centuries has been because of improved health care and social determinants of health. Among the factors that lead to improvement in public health is the role played by the media in causing misperceptions about healthcare programs. Television programs have displayed the world of modern medicine and portrayed healthcare as having a lot of powers to restore health. The television programs educate viewers about the environmental factors and other determinants such as poverty, housing, food insecurity, and social welfare that affect health care.

The programs bring about interventions on public health when things do not happen as required. Nonmedical determinants of health care are also noted to have an impact on the quality of public health; hence, if improved will lead to an increase in life expectancy. Policies that address the significant but less visible health determinants affect the quality of public health.

Public health workers are put on the spot for the challenge of assisting the medically-perplexed public in understanding the many factors that affect their lifestyle; thus, having a direct impact on their life expectancy.

Addressing the public health policies would pave way to the society to focus on its great potential to improve the public health of the nation. Smoking in the public is today influenced by social factors such as the prohibition of smoking in public places. Several countries across the globe have implemented a law that prohibits people from smoking in public places Smoking tobacco is said to have an effect on nonsmokers because it damages their health against their will and could lead to cancer of the lungs.

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Active smokers are known to light a cigarette after a specific duration, a factor that may cause addiction to nonsmokers.

Smoking in public places is said to have a negative influence in the tourism industry in most parts of the world. The law to prohibit smoking in the public, therefore, protects nonsmokers while it also affects smokers. Smoking in the public affects social detriments that affect the quality of public health by increasing pollution, global warming, and diseases in people. Air pollution and global warming is known to be social determinants that affect public healthcare. The effects of smoking in the public have led to the imposing of policies that would prevent harmful effect to public health. Smoking is easily done by active smokers and its effect to the environment is felt by everybody including nonsmokers. In countries where the government has banned smoking in the public, people view the move as promoting a healthier health style for everybody. Most governments tend to care about the health of citizens; hence, the discouragement of people against smoking in television programs Banning of smoking in the public is a reminder that health care is significant and habits such as smoking affects every citizen.

Banning of smoking in public safeguards the life of the smoker as well as the life of a nonsmoker. Among the factors influencing public smoking habit is curiosity, more so among boys and those who work. Smoking behavior of people is influenced by the significance of social environment and gender differences according to some cultures. The working status also influences the smoking behavior of people as it is perceived that more responsibilities come in when people start working. Maintaining a positive and supportive social environment is, therefore, important to prevent public smoking. Change Life campaigns persuade parents to minimize the amount of sugar that their children use by making easy swaps to be followed by the children. Health journals indicate that consuming too much sugar means extra calories that lead to building up of fat inside the body. The excessive fats that pile up inside the body could lead to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes among the victim’s research indicates that children who are obese from childhood are most likely to be overweight when they become adults.

Several devastating effects of sugar push for the Change4Life campaigns across the globe, more so in England, where individuals end up being non-productive in society tooth decay is also known to be caused by sugar. The ailment has been recorded to be the most common reason for hospital admissions for young children in 2012 and 2013 England also has a high number of children suffering from tooth decay; hence their ability to learn, thrive, and develop is affected. Change4Life campaigns recommend various strategies that parents can undertake to come to the rescue of their children the campaign encourages parents to take the breakfast swap challenge whereby plain cereals are consumed. The drink swap is also encouraged as children consume sugar-free drinks. Food items that are low in sugar and fat are encouraged in the Change4Life campaign to understand the sugar issue and its impact on the public health.

It has been noted that the Change Life campaigns influence public health by reducing sugar intake for families that have been influenced by the campaign. Various Universities across the globe such as the University of Reading have been in support of preventive health campaigns such as the Change Life movement that make a real difference to the health of a nation. Change Life campaigns have influenced children to stick to the swaps and reduce the amount of sugar they consume. Children would prefer to ask for food items such as cucumber rather than sweets and other sugary foodstuff, The ChangeALife program has influenced social determinants that lead to poor diet among children. The program is in existence to improve the health and wellbeing of a nation and reduce health inequalities as well. By creating knowledge and intelligence among families, the campaign advocates for prevention measures to make lives better recycling involves the process of collecting and processing materials that could have been thrown away as waste.

Through the recycling process, the waste materials are turned into new products; thus, benefiting the entire community and the environment. The recycling process is influenced by many social determinants such as the need to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and combustion facilities. The waste materials are collected and processed through various methods. The collected matter is then sorted, cleaned and processed into materials that can be used as raw materials in manufacturing other products. Recycling is encouraged as it is also a source of income for many people who buy and sell the raw materials for manufacturing. The urge to conserve natural resources also influences the public to recycle used items. The conservation of natural resources helps the community and the environment to save money, energy as the recycling process is managed at the state and local level.

Recycling has been viewed as a significant factor in conserving natural resources and has a great impact on the conservation of the environment, Local and state authorities stand up for the prevention of pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials, Learning how to handle wastes is viewed as a chance to have a significant impact on the environment and public health. Recycling of used materials is encouraged in the community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global climate change. The greenhouse gas emissions are noted to contribute to climate change, a factor that affects the well being of humans and affects the environment. The urge to sustain the environment for future generations has also been a determinant factor that explains the need for recycling. Many people have been employed in companies that recycle used materials to generate revenue and improve their livelihood. Recycling of materials also reduces pollution which could have led to a reduced life span of many people who are the most productive people. The well paying jobs created by recycling and manufacturing industries in the US and other nations lead to stability of the economy. A stable economy is important in maintaining a healthy population of a country.