CNA151 - Analyzing the Social Determinants of Health: A Case Study

This case study examines the social determinants of health within an Australian family, focusing on Carla, a 54-year-old woman, and her family members who face various challenges including unemployment, financial instability, and lack of education. The analysis highlights how factors such as socioeconomic status, age, and detachment from social networks impact their health outcomes. The study references Australian Bureau of Statistics data and World Health Organization definitions to contextualize the family's struggles within broader societal issues. It identifies poor socioeconomic status as a common determinant affecting all family members, leading to potential physical and psychological issues. The study suggests strategies such as employment stability initiatives and increased awareness of government support programs to address these health inequalities, emphasizing the role of community nurses and value-based healthcare models in providing comprehensive care and resources.

Running Head: CASE STUDY
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Case study
student
3/30/2019

CASE STUDY
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Case study
There are 4 to 6 people are mentioned in the case study who are belongs to a single family. Most
of them suffered with at least one type of problem. Carla as the main focus of this study was a
54 years old woman named Carla. She was married in teenage stage and had children be the time
she was 21 years old. Her husband was employed in mine and helped Carla financially. He lost
his job when the mine closed. He had a head injury and due to financial issues did not discuss in
with his family, and get no treatment. Afterwards the symptoms like forgetfulness, and
depression were raised. Even after divorce Carla takes care of John in the adverse situation. They
lived in small coastal mining town. Her son Robbie completed grade 12 and her daughter Annie
was living in a tiny one room with her boyfriend Josh. Her boyfriend was employed and going to
schools for education in evening. They both were facing the same problems faced by her mother.
The unemployment was also the main issue for the family. Annie was pregnant and both Annie
and Josh were experiencing financial issues, and they were worried about how they will manage
the rent when the baby will arrive. The Australia bureau Statistics (2017) reported that the
average people per household in Australia are 2.6 and median weekly household income is
$1,438. Educational institutes were appeared by 30.8 per cent of individuals in Australia. People
aged 15 and above, nearly 15.7 per cent revealed that they have completed 12 as their highest
student if education. It was also reported that nearly 11,471,296 individuals are in labour force in
Australia. Among all of them nearly 56.7 per cent were worked full time and only 30.4 per cent
worked part time.
According to world health organisation the social determinants of health are the situations or
conditions in which the individuals born grow, live, and age, and daily life activities (World
Health Organisation, 2019). In the case study provided there different social determinants for

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health such as socioeconomic status, lack of education, age, parental responsibilities,
detachment form friends, and unemployment. Carla’s aunt was not educated therefore she
suffered in education. She married to John in early age due to lack of awareness and education.
After the divorce Carla was the single-parent which was also the social determinants as it pouts
more responsibilities and more stress on her. John has employment related issues and even after
having head injury he was not able get treatment for it due to financial issues and developed
depression related symptoms. In case of Carla and John socioeconomic status, lack of education,
age, detachment was the main social determinant s of health. There were not sufficient job
opportunities, which results in depression. Carla wanted to live with her daughter but she was not
able to afford the cost of visit to the city. And she starts saving money by eating only toast in the
evening, so that she can visit to her daughter, but she was still unable to visit frequently. Not
eating healthy food was a clear indication that she might develop other health issues. Annie and
her boyfriends in the other also faced the similar type of issues. Age, economic status, lack of
education is also the main social determinants of health issues (Braveman, Egerter, and
Williams, 2011). Annie was pregnant and had no scope of a child in such age and financial
conditions. Therefore both might be feeling the depression and stress for the child. Detachment
from the family was affecting both Annie and Carla, as Annie needs someone to take care of her
as she developed diabetes related issue but Carla was unable to visit her daily due to financial
issues. Therefore there is a risk of developing other health condition for Annie. Josh was also
worried a might be feeling depression same as John due to financial issues. Annie feel tired due
to her physical health and unable to do job or perform daily life works this might worsening the
situation more.in case of Annie and Josh financial issues were forcing Josh to leaving her
schooling for doing additional work as they had to make more money for their child.

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In this case study poor socioeconomic status was the main or common social determinant of
health for all the family members. Economic status or unemployment is directly associated with
the health outcome of the individuals (Navarro, 2009). It might force an individual to not
consuming health diet and living in unhealthy conditions which might further cause physical and
psychological issues (Bambra et al., 2010). Carla and John experienced this issues so doe their
daughter and her boyfriend. Carla’s close friends moved to the city area for employments, so
does her children, this might cause psychological issues. Employment stability can be the best
strategy for addressing the issues that are being experienced by Carla and her family. This can be
achieved with the help of local government and collaborations with the social care organisations
(Benach, et al., 2014). Unemployed people are more probable to self-reported negative health
status, might have additional risk of depression, and mortality. Additionally unemployment is
also linked with the other social determinants of health like food insecurities, and unstable
housing, dealing with poor socioeconomic status can be an important factor to step to cure the
significant health associated social needs (Brand, 2015). There are different programs are being
conducted by Australian government in order to deal with employment inequalities, the social
service providers needs to make the people aware about those facilities (Christensen, and Petrie,
2013). The government bodies needs to provide the organisations with financial resources for
implanting the supportive programs. The policy maker should promote the fair employment and
decent work. Complete and fair employment must be a focused goal of nationwide social and
economic policy making. The employment should be provide to the people living in backward
areas so they do not have to detached from their families for earring, this will enhance the health
life style and living standard among the people (Francis, 2012).

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Most of the people are aware of the health programs conducted by the local government and
facilities are being provided by local social service providers. Due to this lack of awareness
people do not get treatment and they ignore the disease. The health professionals such as
community nurses can educate the people about the services. They can also educate the patient
about the negative impacts of ignoring the health problems for a longer time. The community
nurses can start a campaign or education programs with local social service providers and reach
to the people for educating them (Solar, and Irwin, 2010). Hospitals that are transferring more
toward the value-based upkeep models such as answerable care officialdoms (ACOs) and hustled
or capitated payments are organising the high investments and most action around addressing
social requirements. These hospitals are providing health facilities for both economically strong
and poor people equally. There are different hospitals provides patient cantered care to address
the medical and social requirements comprising the unemployment of low earing patients. The
hospitals should partner with local organisations that offer the diseased person resources to find
employment (Deloitte, 2017).

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References
AIHW. 2019. Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people: a focus report on housing and
homelessness.
Bambra, C., Gibson, M., Sowden, A., Wright, K., Whitehead, M. and Petticrew, M., 2010.
Tackling the wider social determinants of health and health inequalities: evidence from
systematic reviews. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 64(4), pp.284-291.
Benach, J., Vives, A., Amable, M., Vanroelen, C., Tarafa, G. and Muntaner, C., 2014. Precarious
employment: understanding an emerging social determinant of health. Annual review of
public health, 35, pp.229-253.
Brand, J.E., 2015. The far-reaching impact of job loss and unemployment. Annual review of
sociology, 41, pp.359-375.
Braveman, P., Egerter, S. and Williams, D.R., 2011. The social determinants of health: coming
of age. Annual review of public health, 32, pp.381-398.
Christensen, H. and Petrie, K., 2013. State of the e-mental health field in Australia: where are we
now?. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 47(2), pp.117-120.
Deloitte. 2017. Social determinants of health: How are the hospitals and health systems
investing in and addressing social needs [online]. Available from:
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/life-sciences-health-
care/us-lshc-addressing-social-determinants-of-health.pdf [Accessed 30 March 2019].

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Francis, K., 2012. Health and health practice in rural Australia: where are we, where to from
here?. Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 5(1), pp.28-36.
Navarro, V., 2009. What we mean by social determinants of health. International Journal of
Health Services, 39(3), pp.423-441.
Queensland Health. 2001. Social Determinants of Health – the Role of Public Health Services,
2001
Solar, O. and Irwin, A., 2010. A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of
health.
The Australia bureau Statistics. 2017. Statistics [online]. Available from:
https://www.abs.gov.au/browse?opendocument&ref=topBar [Accessed 30 March 2019].
World Health Organisation. 2019. Social determinants of health [online]. Available from:
https://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ [Accessed 30 March 2019].