Comprehensive Report: Social Determinants of Health in Canada

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the social determinants of health, with a specific focus on the Canadian context. It begins by defining social determinants of health and their evolution, contrasting lifestyle choices with the impact of living and working conditions. The report then explores the relationship between social structures, living conditions, and health outcomes, examining various models and frameworks. It delves into income disparities in Canada, analyzing the gap between rich and poor, and the impact of economic inequality on different demographic groups. The report further investigates the correlation between income, income distribution, and health, highlighting the effects of low income on health indicators such as birth weight, mortality, and mental health. Additionally, it examines precarious work and the labor market in Canada, discussing the impact of job insecurity and lack of stability on individual health. The report concludes by touching upon the role of governmental interventions in shaping employment patterns and their influence on the health of the nation. This report provides a thorough overview of key issues, trends, and relationships within the realm of public health and social determinants.

Running head: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Social Determinants of Health
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Chapter 1: Social Determinants of Health: Key Issues and Themes
Defining social determinants of health can be defined as the physical and mental
wellness and preparedness of individuals and the wide variety of resources that society
provides to the members. The recent developments in the idea of social determinants of
health has changed and the earlier determinants such as alcohol and tobacco use, body
weight, diet and physical activity has given way to present considerations of policy making
and the social, economic and political factors that shape the decisions regarding policy.
The living and working conditions are far more impactful on health rather than the
lifestyle choices. Canadian government too, have created policies to address issues of health
since 1970s though only a limited application has been seen. There is a huge gap in the
promise and action has led to a practice of addressing groups that are at risk rather than
improving their conditions. New determinants include income groups, education,
employment and working conditions. The Canadian government has created extensive
policies and frameworks in order to address the issues.
Chapter 2: Social Structure, Living Conditions and Health
The discussion related to social determinants of health concerns itself with the
different frameworks related to broader context and the external contexts like environment
and politics. Individual approaches to health determinants has certain issues as it assumes
lifestyle choices as the primary factor contributing to bad health. It is also assumed that
people most affected with medical conditions can change their behavior through medical
intervention or self-made choices though there is little evidence supporting that assumption.
Different researchers have come up with models such as materialistic model, life
course perspectives and framework in order to understand the distribution of resources in the
society and to determine how that affects health conditions. Despite all the efforts, the models

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and frameworks has not been able to incorporate the resultant outcome and its relationships
with determinants of health. Factors like neighborhood, working conditions, living conditions
income, psychological factors all are contributing factors that impact health of individuals in
the society.
Chapter 3: Precarious Changes: A Generational Exploration of Canadian Incomes and
Wealth
The measures of ‘average income’ varies in Canada and thus the information that are
gathered through media are not completely reliable. The information regarding Canadian
economy indicates that the people in Canada are well of and thus are able to afford necessary
lifestyle choices. Information related to market incomes and differentiation of income groups
brings forth a picture which shows that through time, the gap of income between the rich and
poor has increased exponentially and most of the wealth in any nation is concentrated into the
hands of very few people.
Trends show that people with lower income have been more affected due to recession
while the high income group has been found to be more or less immune to it. In measuring
the inequalities in income, the Gini Coefficient has been introduced. The population that face
the hardest brunt of economic inequality are the racial minor groups, females, destitute and
aged people.
Chapter 4: Income, Income Distribution and Health in Canada
This chapter focus on the income and health relationship. The previous studies have
mainly focused on idea of poverty, the macro factors affecting poverty and the consequences
of it on health. Their main approach has been on the idea of income inequality and health.
Studies find close relationship between individual income and health as low income invites
low birth weight, mortality, psycho-social problems and delinquency. A close study on

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Quebec shows that lower income groups were more prone to mental health and malnutrition
issues. It is seen that the neighborhoods having lower income are subjected to higher
mortality and lower life expectancy rate. They also suffer from mental health issues and
social inequalities which further contribute to their problems. There are theories explaining
the income inequality and health.
Chapter 5: Precarious work and the Labor Market
Canada has faced unemployment for a long time. In recent times situations have
improved though many of the areas still face similar problems. There is still many precarious
condition remaining in getting better career options. The job sector has lack of stability,
choice of jobs, and lack of flexibility. Individual health is also affected due to job insecurity
and stability. In Canada, the number of people working full time is decreasing and that affects
the income of the individuals. Thus, these factors are directly related to the idea of income
and health that has already been related to wellbeing. The governmental type and approach
also controls the employment pattern of the country in many ways. Governmental
intervention creates difference in the health of the nation as it ensures that unemployed
people can receive certain benefits even if they cannot contribute to national income.