Author: Sameera Reddymeka
Social determinants are important factors that affect a patient’s health care and it is not always recognised. Two of the five social determinants are economic stability and education. Social and economic factors are not commonly considered when it comes to health, however they really have an impact on health improvement. Economic stability takes a major role on how a person receives their medical treatment or help. Lack of financial stability can cause patients to not visit the doctors office, unable to receive proper medication, or no insurance. In these circumstances, patients are not able to cure themselves with proper care and their situations get worse before they can fix them.
Education and culture also take a huge toll on how patients recognize the help they need and how they are willing to treat it. Many patients are not willing to go to the doctors due to their own personal reasons and try to fix the problem using home remedies. Home remedies can have a good impact on patients, but they are not always the right medication and further treatment is needed.
Through an interview with, family medicine practitioner, Dr. Reddy speaks upon her opinion and experiences with the social and economic situations in patients. She states that she sees many patients where financial aspects are responsible for receiving medical treatment. Many also don’t have insurance to support them. She also spoke about how some cultures use home remedies and it causes ignorance of a real diagnosis that needs professional treatment.
Citations:
Mosquera, Isabel et al. “The Impact of Fiscal Policies on the Socioeconomic Determinants of Health.” International journal of health services : planning, administration, evaluation vol. 47,2 (2017): 189-206. doi:10.1177/0020731416681230
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