Social Determinants of Health in a Case Study

UNIT:
NAME:
DATE:’

Case Study Questions
Characteristics of individuals in the Case Study
The case study has six characters that are related by blood and marriage. They are Carla, John,
Carla’s Aunt, Robbie, Annie and John. Carla’s parents died and she got raised by her aunt. Carla
got married to John at an early age and after getting children they divorced. These individuals
live in a small coastal mining town and Carla’s children moved to the city to seek employment.
The characteristics of individuals in this case study have; little money, low literacy level, no jobs,
minimal social support and poor health behaviours.
There is evidence in the case study that supports the individuals’ characteristics. First, Carla is
brought up with her auntie and ends up bringing up her children as a sole parent. Carla’s lifelong
friends also left the town to other places. Secondly, John lost his job and he was unable to find
another one and could not support his family financially. Annie and her boyfriend live in a tiny
room and struggle to make ends meet and Carla cannot afford to visit her daughter and has to
save to meet the cost. The main mining company in town closed down and other businesses were
negatively affected and people had to look for employment elsewhere or work as casuals.
Thirdly, Carla was brought up with her aunt who did not know how to read and she struggled in
school. Carla’s children also did not do well in school. Lastly, Carla eats toast as her evening
meal and her daughter who is pregnant has gestational diabetes.
Social Determinants of Health in the Case Study
There are several social determinants of health that are evident in the case study. Social
determinants of health are conditions that individuals are born, live, grow, work, and age that
shape distribution of power, money and recourses influencing their health status (Braveman,
Egerter, and Williams, 2011). The social determinants of health present in the case study are;
education and literacy level, employment and working conditions, level of income, social
support, and healthy behaviours. To begin with, education impacts almost all individuals in the
case study. Education impacts how the individuals in the case study make health decisions and
get employment opportunities (Mitrou et al., 2014). John fails to make an important decision
about his health to get treatment for a head injury. This causes him to get forgetful and depressed

deteriorating his health (Richardson, Lester, and Zhang, 2012). Carla had inadequate education
and could not find good employment opportunities. Josh also struggles with his current job
because it does not compensate enough to meet his needs. Secondly, employment and working
conditions affected the health and wellbeing of the individuals in the case study. Employment
and working condition impacts an individual income consistency and the environment that they
interact with (Allen et al., 2014). John doesn’t find a consistent employment and had to find a
casual job. This made it impossible to support his children financially. The casual working
condition led to John having an accident. Thirdly the level of income impact how individuals in
the case study make purchase and where they live. Carla cannot meet the cost of visiting her
daughter and she has to sacrifice evening meals. She compromises eating balance diet that can
negatively impact her health by inadequate uptake of nutrients. Low income also impacts Josh’s
health and wellbeing by pressuring him to work during the day and go to school in the evening.
Josh lacks enough time to take a rest that can negatively impact his health and he even thinks of
quitting school. Another social determinant of health and wellbeing in the case study is social
structure. John divorces his wife and lives alone that impact his mental health (Allen et al. 2014).
Lack of a family structure limits social structures that enable individuals get resources and
change attitude towards health decisions. Carla lacked a family structure that could have helped
her get educated. Carla’s lifelong friends also moved away from the town that destroyed her
social structure making her vulnerable to stress and anxiety. Lastly is healthy behaviours has
impacted the individual capacity to make healthy choices and actions (Small, Taft, and Brown,
2011). Carla takes unbalanced diet to save money while Annie unhealthy behaviours while
pregnant led to gestational diabetes.
Best Way to Address Healthy Behaviours
Health behaviours impacts individuals’ and communities’ health by engaging in activities that
increase health risks. Health behaviours of an individual are shaped by health choices and
external constraints (Marmot, 2011). Positive health behaviours promote good health and
wellbeing and it prevents diseases while negative behaviours lead to risky health choices that
cause harm and illness (Baum and Fisher, 2014). The best strategy to address unhealthy
behaviours is to undertake a health promotion campaign. Health promotions enlighten
community members on how to make healthy choices and minimize risky health behaviours.