Social, Behavioral, and Cultural Factors in Public Health: Discussions

This assignment presents a student's discussion on social, behavioral, and cultural factors in public health, addressing the core concepts of public health, the distinction between 'old' and 'new' public health, and the tensions between individual rights and community interests. The discussion includes ex...Read More

Running head; SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
1
SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
Student’s Name
Institutional affiliation

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 2
MODULE 1
My name is Jeremy Stratford; I am 20 years old and born in the state of Victoria. My
decision to choose this study is based on the fact that my Father is a health practitioner and being
my mentor, inspired me to pursue his professional niche due to his success. More so, health
being an essential pillar in the development of goals of Australia, it creates the required demand
for professional labour in the health sector to address the diverse health needs of the public.
What is public health?
The topic public health can be defined in various ways, however, the compound
understanding of the health subcategory can be identified as; the branch of health management
that particularly majors into preventing diseases that affect the public, enhancing the overall life
expectancy of public, promoting human health through the necessary support structures that
involve efforts of the society, both public and private organizations and individuals.
Old and New public health
The definition highlighted above is more affiliated to the old public health perspective, on
the other hand, new public health besides having the support structure, human health
development according to the new public health is undertaken in various ways. For instance, it
majorly involves complementing the old measure with scientific innovations, technological
support and inclusion and finally health management systems that enable efficient and
appropriate dispersal of health services besides revealing performance trends (Petersen and
Lupton, 1996).
For instance, the ultimate distinction between the new and the old perspectives of old and
new public health exists in the bold technological, scientific and management steps that have

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 3
been undertaken to address some of the long-term challenges in the health sector. Therefore the
distinction entirely stands out as an apparent development in public health administration.
Discussion 2: Tensions between individual rights and community interests
The tension between individual and communitarian perspectives in public health
administration also implicates the overall health environment differently. For instance, individual
autonomy in its framework emphasizes personal informed consent and privacy during health
interventions. Therefore, the tension is brought about, especially in cases of public health
intervention programs. The intervention programs that target the public like disease vaccinations
may not align with personal preferences (Pausé, 2017).
Furthermore, some of the factors that can lead to rejection of health interventions include
religious beliefs. This contradiction is also more expected in developed countries. The ethical
aspect of beneficence, which is a compulsory subcategory of the training course for medical
service providers, however, is a justification of the public health invasive measures. For instance,
it should be understood from the perspective that all public intervention measures are aimed at
benefiting the entire public target. A case example is a decision by parents in the United
Kingdom to cease against the government invention to vaccine children against Measles, mumps
and rubella.
The role of health practitioners in the tension
Health service providers are meant to play an essential role in this tension; for instance,
practitioners are urged to comply with practices that respect beneficence. Therefore, they are also
supposed to establish an ethical balance during their service, especially in such contradicting
health intervention cases. In addition, the essential role of practitioners, in this case, is to

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 4
enlighten the individuals on the rightful intended purpose of the vaccines. This explanation
should be in terms of how the vaccine is intended to impact the individual well-being and find
out if the outcomes conform to the individual's wishes (Pausé, 2017).
How public health campaigns would avoid promoting stigma
Besides making available free health care for people during their early lives and
preventing the consequential outcomes that may affect the respective persons in their adulthood,
avoiding stigma can also be undertaken during the public health campaigns, this can be mainly
through, proper choice of words during raising awareness by the campaign to prevent hurt or
portray a negative general picture of the group, furthermore, to avoid stigma, the primary
purpose of the campaign should clearly focus on the positive impacts and supporting of the
respective groups (Pausé, 2017).
Reference:
Petersen, A., & Lupton, D. (1996). The new public health: Health and self in the age of risk.
Sage Publications, Inc.
Pausé, C. (2017). Borderline: the ethics of fat stigma in public health. The Journal of Law,
Medicine & Ethics, 45(4), 510-517.

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 5
MODULE 2
Social determinants
According to WHO, the current trend in medical care that seeks to enhance value in
health care administration is also immensely impacted by the diverse social determinants of
health? These social determinants are fundamental upbringing circumstances in and individual’s
life that can also affect their health. An example is the issue of low-income level among
members of the neighborhood in Virginia. The low income hence affects the population's ability
to seek proper and affordable healthcare. Therefore, healthcare outcomes can be enhanced in this
case by partnering with the government, public and private organizations to make available
affordable healthcare for low-income households (Adler, Glymour and Fielding, 2016).
Practitioners adapting the social determinants approach
Among the importance of understanding social determinants includes the ability to come
up with proper public health administration practices that address public health most effectively.
Thus, considering the diversity of the determinants as in different societal set-ups, upholding this
approach will have the following impact. Firstly, health interventions targeting various groups
will have the ultimate utility. Mainly due to having been tailored to address the health situations
based on the diverse existing social determinants among the groups.
DISCUSSION 2; Implications of public health practice

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 6
The social gradient in public health refers to the alignment of individuals' socioeconomic
status to their capability to look after their health. Notably, poor households experience poor
health, whereas the wealthy members of the society experience quality health and healthcare.
According to my opinion, the healthcare interventions across the gradient should be universal in
approach. Mainly because, besides being affected by different social determinants, all human
beings are vulnerable to the same type of infections. However, the difference should be how the
interventions are made accessible and affordable in the social gradient (Marmot, 2015).
References:
Adler, N. E., Glymour, M. M., & Fielding, J. (2016). Addressing social determinants of health
and health inequalities. Jama, 316(16), 1641-1642.
Marmot, M. (2015). The health gap: the challenge of an unequal world. The Lancet, 386(10011),
2442-2444.

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 7
Module 3
DISCUSSION TOPIC 1; Primary, secondary and tertiary interventions
Primary inventions are objectively aimed at reducing the frequency of both diseases and
disability in the population. For example, health programs that sensitize on the effects of
smoking and the importance of physical exercise and healthy nutrition practices. On the other
hand, secondary intervention approaches focus on prevention of the disease that already exists
among the population groups. By targeting members that may be exposed to the diseases, these
approaches include screening for the various forms of cancer. Thirdly, tertiary types of
interventions are purposely supposed to contain the consequences of conventional diseases. Such
strategies include; rehabilitative programs for drug abuse and accident victims, also self-care
programs in cases of chronic diseases (Magruder, Kassam-Adams, Thoresen and Olff, 2016).
The healthcare system in Australia is based on the primary intervention approaches. For
instance, it's due to the belief that having a robust primary care approach helps immensely in the
prevention of adulthood health problems. Besides, primary care reduces the costs incurred on the
entire national healthcare
DISCUSSION TOPIC 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS
The decision by people to alter their health decisions is affected by various perspectives
as resented in the social psychological theories.

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 8
Most importantly, health behaviours can be influenced by a mix of various factors that
originate from the diverse surrounding around the individual. Besides social support, strategic
change in health behaviour erupts from variation in the individual mindset. For instance, through
the development of knowledge and beliefs, the paradigm shift is created that catapults the
individual towards change desired in health behaviours (Davis, Campbell, Hildon, Hobbs, and
Michie, 2015).
Some of the notable limitations of the model include the non-regard to personal beliefs
and attitudes as an essential determinant health behaviour. Secondly, the assumption that all
people are can equally access information on diseases is also a setback of the model. However,
some of the strengths are the theories' ability to explain individual's beliefs in four subcategories
namely; perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits and barriers (Davis et.al 2015).
Reference:
Magruder, K. M., Kassam-Adams, N., Thoresen, S., & Olff, M. (2016). Prevention and public
health approaches to trauma and traumatic stress: A rationale and a call to
action. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 7(1), 29715.
Davis, R., Campbell, R., Hildon, Z., Hobbs, L., & Michie, S. (2015). Theories of behavior and
behavior change across the social and behavioral sciences: a scoping review. Health
psychology review, 9(3), 323-344.

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 9
MODULE 4
Discussion 1: Maternal mortality
According to the WHO 2014, extreme pregnancy and childbirth scenarios have
contributed to up to an average of up to 830 deaths globally daily. For instance, the average daily
summation of deaths that originate from pregnancy and childbirth equaled over 300,000 women.
The organization also reveals that 99% of the total number of maternal mortalities globally
occurred in developing and third world countries.
The difference in the places of occurrences of the deaths is mainly indicated in the
inability to access affordable and accessible medical care during pregnancy and birth. Besides
the fact that the deaths could have been prevented, another cross-cutting factor is that the deaths
happen in places with low income and adverse economic currents. Notably, there was an overall
decline in the mortality rates across some countries in Africa and Asia which have countries
adversely affected by maternal mortality
The inability to address equality and compliance of women rights is also
prevalent. For instance, considering adolescents and women from the rural set up across the
countries are the most affected, it is clear hence that, the government systems in the respective
countries are reluctant towards providing the required basic needs in the rural areas. Particularly,
facilitate educational opportunities for adolescent girls and provision of the necessary maternal

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 10
healthcare as fundamental rights especially for women empowerment (Kassebaum, Bertozzi-
Villa, Coggeshall, Shackelford, Steiner, Heuton, and Templin, 2014).
Changes to reduce inequalities
Recommended solutions for the menace include ensuring availability of the required
medical care to mortality causes like over bleeding after birth, furthermore medical attention and
detection of complications like pre-eclampsia (Kassebaum et.al 2014). Creating awareness
regarding the importance of hygiene to prevent infections during childbirth and, prevention of
early pregnancy among teens is also crucial in reducing maternal deaths. Furthermore, there
should also be an active oversight role by the governing systems to ensure the upholding of
women rights.
Discussion 2; Gender and health in Australia
Besides the diversity of gender affiliated illnesses, it is also essential to use gender
affiliation to determine the level of healthcare use in the country. For instance, The Australian
state introduces health interventions and solutions that besides focus on specific types of gender
or members from both genders. The use of gender as measure access to healthcare helps
determine the number of households affiliated to a particular gender. For instance, during cancer
sensitization and screening, taking gender statistics enables the determination of the number of
members that have vulnerable to the various types of cancer and appropriate control measures
(Butler-Henderson, Dimitropoulos, Katte, Mcpherson and Bennett, 2018).
References:
Kassebaum, N. J., Bertozzi-Villa, A., Coggeshall, M. S., Shackelford, K. A., Steiner, C., Heuton,
K. R., ... & Templin, T. (2014). Global, regional, and national levels and causes of

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 11
maternal mortality during 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of
Disease Study 2013. The Lancet, 384(9947), 980-1004.
Butler-Henderson, K., Dimitropoulos, V., Katte, J., Mcpherson, B., & Bennett, V. (2018).
Diverse gender, sex and sexuality: Data collection and population health. HIM-
Interchange, 8(2), 4-8.
MODULE 5
Discussion 1: Determination of health for indigenous Asians
Significant incidences of racism that have created a lot of mass attention in have also
been experienced in Australia. For instance, the race is too important social determinants of
health in Australia; the most notable incidence is the racism advances towards the indigenous
members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders. For instance, the Victorian state inhabitants
in comparison to the other households of the state are vulnerable to racial discrimination. This
vulnerability is four times than in other households in a period for every 12 months. This
revelation implies that the accessibility of indigenous Australian groups to quality health care is
jeopardized by the racial incidences (Taylor and Guerin, 2019).
Racial impacts on the health of indigenous Australians led to the establishment of the
Aboriginal health facility. For instance, the significant difference was to tailor the health services
towards the needs of the indigenous groups based on the existing social determinants. For
example, the facility is efficient in the provision of indigenous healthcare compared to
mainstream facilities; furthermore, the ability to enhance patient relationship and trust between
the hospital and the indigenous groups is a notable difference.
Discussion 2: Determinants of health for CALD members

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 12
Besides ensuring a proper communication framework that complies with the cultural and
linguistic aspects of their clients, it is vital for the professional to be quite aware of the following
factors. Firstly, an adequate understanding of the cultural background or affiliation of the
respective clients, particularly, the information should range from the individual beliefs, values
and the general cultural expectations of the patient. The data is important since it helps
practitioners to develop informed health decisions and build the relationship. It also enhances
customer satisfaction and particularly among older members of CALD who are more conversant
to their cultural beliefs and values (Millar Carey, and Liu, 2016).
References:
Taylor, K., & Guerin, P. (2019). Health care and Indigenous Australians: cultural safety in
practice. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Millar, C., Carey, L. B., Liu, C. Y., & Liu, Y. J. (2016). CALD Patients' Length of Stay and
Unplanned Readmissions: An exploratory review of international literature and Alfred
Health Services-A Participatory Field Placement Collaboration Report.

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 13
MODULE 6
Discussion 1: Social capital, health, and wellbeing
The conceptual framework of social capital is broad since it affects various literary
disciplines as well. Besides the prevailing rigidity in the application of the concept, social capital
mainly addresses the importance of connections in the society; besides, the importance emerging
from being associated with a particular social group in the community. This social framework, in
most cases is also influential towards the development of younger members of society.
On the other hand, the social exclusion concepts involve individual members of society
be omitted from the dominant system. Therefore, they are also left out from the privileges that
associate with being a recognized member of the social system. This leads to poverty and the
existence of minority groups in society. Social capital is my dominant choice since it addresses
the negative implications of social exclusion and ensures universal development of the society
(Mithen, Aitken, Ziersch and Kavanagh, 2015).
Social capital affects health and wellbeing in both positive and negative ways; positively,
it enhances equality in access to essential health services. Through equal access to all members

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 14
of the society, there is a universal sense of belonging and wellbeing for members of society.
Also, proper healthcare available to members enhances improved public health, on the other
hand, the negative implications include; the increase demand for professional care personnel
discharge health services, secondly, the social influence which can be significantly active in
social capital can also influence various health department undesirably.
Discussion 2: Dimensions of resilience
Resilience can be fundamentally understood as the peoples' ability to mitigate, show
adaptation, recovery and learn essential lessons from adverse incidences that boost their
wellbeing. Furthermore, resilience is meant to reduce the level of vulnerability in the future. The
dimensions, therefore, exist in environmental aspects, wealth-since wealth is lost in some
resilience incidences, the management of people's main source livelihood as a coping strategy
like livestock management for pastoralists, infrastructural and social dimensions which involves
the availability of critical social facilities that may enhance the disaster awareness and resilience.
How is resilience related to health outcomes?
The ability to cope with adverse situations positively can be impactful to the health in
various ways as well. For instance, it reduces the cases of chronic depression, resilience boosts
the ability to control how situations affect our being. Considering stress in its chronic level
impacts health in forms like, high blood pressure, occurrences of depression, Insomnia, cardiac
diseases, insufficiency of the immune system, resilience is therefore vital to health (Matheson,
Robertson, Elliott, Iversen, and Murchie, 2016).
Reference:

SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN PUBLIC HEALTH 15
Mithen, J., Aitken, Z., Ziersch, A., & Kavanagh, A. M. (2015). Inequalities in social capital and
health between people with and without disabilities. Social Science & Medicine, 126, 26-
35.
Matheson, C., Robertson, H. D., Elliott, A. M., Iversen, L., & Murchie, P. (2016). Resilience of
primary healthcare professionals working in challenging environments: a focus group
study. Br J Gen Pract, 66(648), e507-e515.