National and State Health Goals: Key Health Determinants

Key Health Determinants
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Key Health Determinants
In the United States, the Hispanics are disproportionately affected by Type2 diabetes. This imposes greater financial and human costs at the societal and individual level. As compared with other population groups, Hispanics are vulnerable to this type of disease with studies showing a prevalence rate of approximately 17 percent among adults (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016).
Epidemiological Data
According to 2017 official report, the Hispanics rank at number three with 12.6 percent of men being affected by this type of disease and 11.7 percent of women having the same disease. This is as compared with American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) who have 14.9 percent and 15.3 percent for men and women respectively. The blacks and non-Hispanic on the other hand are ranked at 12.2 percent and 13.2 percent for men and women respectively (CDC, 2017). This level of vulnerability is shaped by social and structural position factors also known as social determinants of health. These determinants exerts health pressure on people via allostatic burden, a phenomenon that in turn causes chronic stress leading to development of behavioral risk factors (de Andrade, 2015). These include substance abuse, sedentary behaviors and poor diet. Affected individuals may also exhibit signs of altered biological processes like inflammation, cytokine responses among others. Social determinants of health are reflected in health inequalities and are related to cultural background, socioeconomic status and alienation.
Health Determinants
Physical Environment
One of the most important determinants of health is the built or physical environment. In the presence poor physical environments, factors such as safety, transportation and access to healthy food become compromised (Clark, M. & Utz, 2014). For example, poor transport infrastructure will inhibit access to medical services. According to Velasco-Mondragon and colleagues (2016), 91 percent of Hispanics in the country reside in metropolitan areas with 28.3 percent of this number living near major highways. While this may grant them an opportunity to have improved access to health care, it also expose them to adverse health risks including but not limited to risk of developing chronic and acute respiratory illnesses and poor pregnancy outcomes due to industrial pollution. The physical environment determines how one access health care institutions.
Access to medical services
Some people may be subject to health inequality in terms of accessibility of healthcare resources. This can be as a result of socioeconomic status, physical environment and culture among other factors. For example, in their study, Velasco-Mondragon and colleagues (2016) observed that only about 68.6 percent of Hispanics speak fluent English. Culture and language barriers in this affect their access to healthcare. Understandably, older people among Hispanic people are unable to access health care services due to lack of financial resources.
Social environment
The social environment within which an individual lives is marked by his/her social economic status, culture and language and gender. As with the case o...