Embedded Files
To begin, one of the first curation processes completed in this course, was to understand the connection between professionalism and social media. Initially, I understood it as upholding an identity that allows others to see you in a positive light when it comes to your online presence. In the field of healthcare, the term e-professionalism has been developed by Cain and Romanelli (2005) which states, “attitudes and behaviours (some of which may occur in private settings) reflecting traditional professionalism paradigms that are manifested through digital media”. This statement still holds true, however as I developed more online attendance through creating an e-portfolio, I soon realized that professional presence online does not only mean how you conduct yourself on social media platforms, but to enlighten others with knowledge through these platforms. Creating a space for all the resourcing that has been done throughout this course, caters to the aspect of being a professional online. Creating this E-portfolio has given the opportunity to express the meaning of health in so many aspects that the space has now alluded to multiple outlooks on health. After multiple findings on the definition, a conclusion was drawn to understand that there are multiple spheres and influences on health. Two major aspects were the Social Determinants of Health, and the different Spheres of Influence pertaining to health. The Social Determinants of health were first outlined in 1999 by Michael Marmot and Richard Wilkinson in a book titled, “Social Determinants of Health”. In their book, they were able to shape different views based on scientific evidence which were (Osmik & Wilson, 2020);
· Health disparities amongst individuals is caused by characteristics in society, not the difference in health care· A change in environment, can change one’s risk of disease· The gradient of health is a problem across the entire socioeconomic spectrum – the lower the social hierarchy, the shorter the life expectancy and higher the mortality rates· With the involvement of interventions, the health gradient can quickly change· Social position determines health
· Health disparities amongst individuals is caused by characteristics in society, not the difference in health care· A change in environment, can change one’s risk of disease· The gradient of health is a problem across the entire socioeconomic spectrum – the lower the social hierarchy, the shorter the life expectancy and higher the mortality rates· With the involvement of interventions, the health gradient can quickly change· Social position determines health
CDC (2023) Social Determinants of Health , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Public Health Infrastructure Centre . Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/sdoh/index.html
Carroll , S. (2023) Getting to the Root of Community Safety, City Councillor: Shelley Carroll . E-BLAST. Available at: https://shelleycarroll.ca/updates/2023/04/13/getting-to-the-root-of-community-safety
As learned, these determinants are grouped into 5 domains; economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighbourhood and built environment, social and community context (OASH, 2020). These domains can be further broken down into the 12 main determinants.
Although the determinants of health help us understand that individuals can be affected from the moment they are brought into the world, when recognizing these determinants, it is also important to apply guidelines, frameworks, and models to the populations within these domains that are not as advantageous. The Spheres of influence are also what help shape the outlook of health for all demographics and populations. To define, spheres of influence are institutions or individuals that have more influence and responsibility than others (Karches, 2021). To put into perspective, physicians in Flint Michigan were realizing an increase in patients due to water contamination; the core sphere of influence to bring this issue to notice was the direct interaction the physician had with the patient. The healthcare provider was then able to influence at the community level by engaging with other healthcare providers within and around the organization (Karches, 2021). The population of Flint Michigan was seen as disadvantageous and thus marginalized as they did not have access to clean water, and this is another health issue that these individuals will have to deal with unless a higher level of influence intervenes. Diving into the spheres of influence gave more pathway to using models that are applied to health issues to keep the risk at a minimum. The Socioecological Model of Health (SEM) is a model that was highly discussed in this course. It gave comprehension to why certain public health measures are in place and why they should be enforced to begin with. For example, looking at high school sports related death through the lens of SEM, allowed for more knowledge about how certain measures are put into place for health issues across all demographics. Although formal and informal guidelines have been developed to shape cultural norms within highschool sports, there is an expectation to know the consequences in engaging in specific behaviours (McLeroy, Bibeau, Steckler & Glanz, 1988, Bronfenbrenner 1977). Policies such as fire drills, lockdowns, and threats, are directly correlated to policy mandates for safety in educational environments – the policy to keep students safe should extend to the athletic department within the institution (Scarneo, 2019). Interventions that involve the SEM are deemed to be more lasting, and effective than interventions that only address 1 level of influence.In addition, not all demographics have the advantage of healthy policies being implemented, as the resources won’t allow for it. Communities in Canada within the lowest socioeconomic status have a higher prevalence of death due to chronic disease than those who are not a part of that demographic. After doing some research on chronic diseases in Ontario, it seems as though the CCO has conceptualized a multi-year plan to help combat the risk of chronic diseases for all Ontarians – by monitoring the initiatives developed in the strategy, the CCO will be able to use the evidence and to create more preventative measures. Also, the inclusion of the First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous people is a priority to ensure all chronic health prevention needs are met, which now brings the discussion to marginalized communities within Canada and Ontario.
The term marginalization can be defined as a process where certain individuals and groups of people are unable to completely participate in society. Individuals within a marginalized community have limited or no accessibility to education, employment, adequate housing, clean water, health services, and other social determinants of health. Not only is individual health affected in marginalized communities, but overall community health as well (On-Marg, 2016). This point in the course allowed for me to understand that marginalized communities are much closer than we think – along with indigenous communities that may not have access to clean water, effective healthcare, proper housing, communities within the city of Toronto, such as Regent Park, are very much marginalized. Unfortunately, what has been learned through literature is that these communities are often torn down to build expensive condos, displacing the current citizens within that population. Targeting marginalized communities is easier as their access to resources are minimal to begin with. Public health and policy’s main goal is to promote and advocate for healthier lifestyles and behaviours, creating a universality concept of ‘one size fits all’. When conceptualizing public health policies, we tend to unconsciously build these initiatives around the demographic and populations that have access to resources that benefit their health. I quickly learned that something as simple as washing your hands before a meal is not in sight for everyone; clean water and food for a family of 5 every night is a privilege. In relation, the indigenous community makes up the youngest population in Canada but in contrast, have the least amount of medical resources, plus the suicide rate and mood disorders are extremely prevalent in this demographic and preventative measures need to be implemented.
Although the determinants of health help us understand that individuals can be affected from the moment they are brought into the world, when recognizing these determinants, it is also important to apply guidelines, frameworks, and models to the populations within these domains that are not as advantageous. The Spheres of influence are also what help shape the outlook of health for all demographics and populations. To define, spheres of influence are institutions or individuals that have more influence and responsibility than others (Karches, 2021). To put into perspective, physicians in Flint Michigan were realizing an increase in patients due to water contamination; the core sphere of influence to bring this issue to notice was the direct interaction the physician had with the patient. The healthcare provider was then able to influence at the community level by engaging with other healthcare providers within and around the organization (Karches, 2021). The population of Flint Michigan was seen as disadvantageous and thus marginalized as they did not have access to clean water, and this is another health issue that these individuals will have to deal with unless a higher level of influence intervenes. Diving into the spheres of influence gave more pathway to using models that are applied to health issues to keep the risk at a minimum. The Socioecological Model of Health (SEM) is a model that was highly discussed in this course. It gave comprehension to why certain public health measures are in place and why they should be enforced to begin with. For example, looking at high school sports related death through the lens of SEM, allowed for more knowledge about how certain measures are put into place for health issues across all demographics. Although formal and informal guidelines have been developed to shape cultural norms within highschool sports, there is an expectation to know the consequences in engaging in specific behaviours (McLeroy, Bibeau, Steckler & Glanz, 1988, Bronfenbrenner 1977). Policies such as fire drills, lockdowns, and threats, are directly correlated to policy mandates for safety in educational environments – the policy to keep students safe should extend to the athletic department within the institution (Scarneo, 2019). Interventions that involve the SEM are deemed to be more lasting, and effective than interventions that only address 1 level of influence.In addition, not all demographics have the advantage of healthy policies being implemented, as the resources won’t allow for it. Communities in Canada within the lowest socioeconomic status have a higher prevalence of death due to chronic disease than those who are not a part of that demographic. After doing some research on chronic diseases in Ontario, it seems as though the CCO has conceptualized a multi-year plan to help combat the risk of chronic diseases for all Ontarians – by monitoring the initiatives developed in the strategy, the CCO will be able to use the evidence and to create more preventative measures. Also, the inclusion of the First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous people is a priority to ensure all chronic health prevention needs are met, which now brings the discussion to marginalized communities within Canada and Ontario.
The term marginalization can be defined as a process where certain individuals and groups of people are unable to completely participate in society. Individuals within a marginalized community have limited or no accessibility to education, employment, adequate housing, clean water, health services, and other social determinants of health. Not only is individual health affected in marginalized communities, but overall community health as well (On-Marg, 2016). This point in the course allowed for me to understand that marginalized communities are much closer than we think – along with indigenous communities that may not have access to clean water, effective healthcare, proper housing, communities within the city of Toronto, such as Regent Park, are very much marginalized. Unfortunately, what has been learned through literature is that these communities are often torn down to build expensive condos, displacing the current citizens within that population. Targeting marginalized communities is easier as their access to resources are minimal to begin with. Public health and policy’s main goal is to promote and advocate for healthier lifestyles and behaviours, creating a universality concept of ‘one size fits all’. When conceptualizing public health policies, we tend to unconsciously build these initiatives around the demographic and populations that have access to resources that benefit their health. I quickly learned that something as simple as washing your hands before a meal is not in sight for everyone; clean water and food for a family of 5 every night is a privilege. In relation, the indigenous community makes up the youngest population in Canada but in contrast, have the least amount of medical resources, plus the suicide rate and mood disorders are extremely prevalent in this demographic and preventative measures need to be implemented.
Provincial Governments (2022) Building Understanding: The First Report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty, Government of Canada . National Advisory Council on Policy . Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/poverty-reduction/national-advisory-council/reports/2020-annual.html#h2.07.
Between 2015 and 2018, the poverty rates for all groups that can be counted for using data from the Canadian Income Survey decreased. However, the poverty rate among many marginalized groups remained well above the national average. In particular, poverty rates remained persistently high (at over 30%) for both unattached male and female individuals over this period. In addition, although female-led sole-caregiver families saw a considerable decrease in their poverty rate over this period, they continued to be at high risk of living in poverty (Provincial Government, 2022)
Vabi , V. (2022) Urban Parks and Forests Are Missing in Racialized and Marginalized Neighbourhoods, Nature Canada . Parks Canada . Available at: https://naturecanada.ca/news/blog/parks-and-forests-are-missing-in-marginalized-neighbourhoods/.
Recent research shows that low-income—often racialized and marginalized communities–tend to not only have less access to urban parks and tree cover than richer neighbourhoods but are also located within lower-quality natural environments. (Vabi, 2022).
Finally, with the current initiatives being developed for the improvement of health in all communities in Ontario, where does that leave the populations future in health? Healthcare has remained a top priority for the government but compared to other developed countries, we are lacking (Mirror Mirror, 2021). COVID has shifted the way we view healthcare, but after completing MHST 601, it is more than evident that healthcare in the entirety needs to be evolved. There are so many aspects of health that help shape a healthier community in general and it truly begins at the root, which is the diverse and different populations within each region. Not everything that is conceptualized into a new model or framework to promote healthy practices is effective or efficient for everyone; one size of health does not fit all, and it truly isn’t meant too. The health issues that marginalized communities face is grand compared to other populations and this course aided me in understanding the disadvantages they face. Through the ongoing initiatives and evidence-based practices, the modernization of healthcare should be in full effect.Click here for the resources
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