The Community and Social Context Involve Individuals’ Surroundings

The Community and Social Context Involve Individuals’ Surroundings
Covid-19 or coronavirus disease refers to an infectious illness that is caused by the virus known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first reported in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and later spread to different parts of the world (Usher, Durkin, & Bhullar, 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic in March 2020. In particular, a pandemic refers to an illness outbreak that spreads across continents or countries within a short period. An endemic is an outbreak that is constricted in a specific region. In addition, an epidemic is a disease that influences a significant number of individuals within a specific area, population, or community. The social determinants of health as discussed in the first chapters of the textbook and the PowerPoint slides include economic stability, health care system, education, neighborhood and physical environment, food, and community and social context. Economic stability is the pillar of individuals’ health social determinant and determines one’s ability to access appropriate resources, such as food, health care, and housing. Education improves people’s behaviors that lead to positive health outcomes. Neighborhood and physical environment influence individuals’ wellness and the accessibility of better healthcare services. The health care system entails people’s ability to access primary care and health literacy. In addition, food promotes individuals’ health, particularly eating a balanced diet to provide nutrients that the body needs for growth, cell repair, and other functions. The community and social context involve individuals’ surroundings. The paper focuses on the four social determinants, namely education, community and social context, neighborhood and physical environment, and economic stability that go beyond a person’s choices to determine whether one contracts Covid-19 and recovers from it.
Education as a social determinant of health plays a significant role in determining the overall health and wellbeing of individuals since it increases healthy behaviors that lead to the improvement of people's health outcomes. The educated population makes better health choices compared to uneducated people (Singu, Archarya, Challagundla, & Byrareddy, 2020). As it relates to Covid-19, education was among the social determinants that determined whether individuals contracted this deadly viral disease or not. For example, educated people were more likely to adhere to the government’s regulations and advice given by health professionals, such as the importance of wearing face masks and keeping social distance. In that light, they minimized their probability of contracting the illness. Another example is that educated individuals are more likely to seek medical attention when they have symptoms similar to those of the Covid-19 than their uneducated counterparts. However, education as a social determinant of health can be used to improve Covid-19 awareness to decrease the rate of infection. For instance, people can be educated on how to prevent spreading the illness to others and what to do to help infec...