Social determinants of health (SDOH), often known as non-medical social needs, have a significant impact on a person’s health outcomes. The patients’ needs outside of clinic walls must be attended to if the medical community is to make a meaningful and long-lasting influence on the health condition of their communities and patients. The competence of the practice to evaluate these requirements, the individual needs of the patient group, and the accessibility of community resources will all affect how well initiatives to detect and address these social variables are implemented. The only needs that seemed to affect the Allen family were food and employment. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to say that these affect the family in terms of a deficit, yet these are the primary aspects that negatively affect their health (Gottlieb et al., 2019). The reason for that is that there are no significant financial issues in the family, and therefore the health determinants are related to habits. Based on these determinants, the assessment suggests according to screenings, a health promotion strategy was developed.
Food insecurity is the lack of dependable, consistent access to healthy, reasonably priced food. Both short-term and long-term health outcomes are impacted by food insecurity, including adult diabetes and hypertension risk, child hospitalization risk, and pregnant women’s excess weight gain (American Academy of Family Physicians, 2019). The Allen family does not have issues regarding the accessibility of a certain segment of food, whether it is considered healthy or not. The issue lies in the habits of the family, and Mrs. Allen in particular. Even though the family has the resources to access a healthy diet, it is not able to incorporate it due to poor food choices.
The key to several social health determinants, including food, housing, and transportation, is stable work. It can make it possible for people to purchase nutritious food, live in safer communities, afford better health care, send their kids to school, or take care of them while they’re at work. Underemployment or unemployment puts a burden on available funds and makes it difficult to meet basic demands. Unemployed people have a higher chance of dying sooner and are more likely to self-report having worse health than they do. Other issues related to employment can be based on the issues related to work, which affect the health of a person directly or indirectly.
Mr. Allen is exposed to a large amount of stress at work, which he determines is the reason for his drinking whiskey in the evenings. This affects his health directly, as regular alcohol consumption is known for severe consequences. Moreover, such an amount of stress can lead to an outburn and inability to work effectively, eventually resulting in unemployment. Mrs. Allen’s job causes issues as well, as she mentioned that her sleep regime and memory are affected by the shifts at her workplace. This can have long-term consequences on their health as well as an unstable sleep regime causes, which has already manifested in her memory problems.
For Mr. Allen, the most appropriate screening would be the CAGE test, which is dedicated to predicting and preventing alcohol-related issues. This test is designed for adults, and it matches the issues that Mr. Allen has, as his habit of drinking in the evenings might lead to addictive behavior (Buddy, 2020). For Mrs. Allen, who has trouble getting proper sleep and controlling food habits, screenings of sleep and eating quality for adults are appropriate.
The chosen tests are the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Healthy eating assessment, which are valid and designed for adults (Government of Northwest Territories, 2019; “Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index”, n.d.). Understanding the issues and what is their cause will provide more opportunities to resolve her memory issues. As their older son, Daniel, and two minors did not have any issues, it is possible to address the conflicts in the family that occasionally happen, even though they are not critical. It can be assessed through the SDOH Personal Safety test, which is supposed to predict and prevent violent communicative and physical behaviors. It is appropriate both for adults and minors and therefore can be used for all children.
According to the Health Belief Model idea, a person’s chance of making a change may be predicted by their perception of the efficacy of a therapy mixed with their belief that they have a diagnosed ailment. It may be more difficult for someone to prioritize therapy for the cause if they have a disease that is difficult to identify (LaMorte, 2019). Based on this theory, medical professionals could advise someone that they are either vulnerable or suffering from a dangerous medical problem. Additionally, if a person does not experience the symptoms and appears uneasy about receiving medical guidance, they can be anticipated to doubt the medical strategy. This initial result might be followed by well-informed advice on the potential risk factors which make the disease worse. This model is appropriate to the family as the behaviors can be modified through their beliefs of what is good for their health.
Regarding the steps and communication strategies, it is necessary to correctly explain to the parents the issues present and the health consequences that can be caused by them. The first step is to explain to Mr. Allen the consequences of regular drinking and to Mrs. Allen the connection between her sleep and memory, as well as the issues related to her food habits. The next one would be the regular screening by the tools suggested before of their habits and extra help regarding their problems if it would be required. The third step is considered the solution to the problem, where it will be determined that the issues are resolved.
References
American Academy of Family Physicians. (2019). Social Determinants of Health: Guide to social needs screening.
Buddy, T. (2020). Alcohol screening tests ideal for healthcare settings. Web.
Government of Northwest Territories (2019). Healthy Eating Assessment.
LaMorte, W.W. (2019).The Health Belief Model.
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). (n.d.)
Catalyst, N. E. J. M. (2017). Social determinants of health (SDOH). NEJM Catalyst, 3(6). Web.
Gottlieb, L., Fichtenberg, C., Alderwick, H., & Adler, N. (2019). Social determinants of health: what’sa healthcare system to do?.Journal of Healthcare Management, 64(4), 243-257.