SDH and NHP: The Relationship Between Employment, Obesity, and Health

This report examines the complex interplay between social determinants of health (SDH), specifically employment and work, and the national health priority (NHP) of obesity in Australia. It explores how employment conditions and lifestyle factors contribute to rising obesity rates within the working population, highlighting the challenges faced by the healthcare system. The report details the critical role of nurses in addressing this issue through lifestyle modifications, awareness campaigns, and promoting healthy habits within the working class. Furthermore, it analyzes the relationship between SDH and NHP, emphasizing the government's strategies and initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes, including guidelines related to alcohol consumption and public health awareness campaigns. The effectiveness of these strategies in combating obesity and improving overall health within the working population is also evaluated, concluding with insights into the chronic nature of obesity and the importance of continued efforts to promote health awareness and lifestyle changes.

SDH AND NHP

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Discussion about Social determinant of health (SDH) and National health Priority (NHP).......1
Role of nurses in relation to caring of population impacted by SDH and NHP..........................2
Ways SDH and NHP are related to each other and strategies to improve health outcomes........2
Initiatives taken by Australian government to help combat these issues for Employment and
working population and effectiveness of those strategies or initiatives......................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Social determinant of health (SDH) can be defined as conditions in which people live,
born, grow, age and work. Such conditions are shaped by money, resources and power
distribution at local global or national level. There are various social determinants of health such
as working, employment, housing, resident environment, social exclusion and various others.
SDH chosen for this assignment is environment and work. There are various kinds of health
issues that are faced by different SDH of society (Castaneda & et. al., 2015). So to prevent and
control such health issues National health Priority (NHP) areas were initiated by the government
which focused on such health issues. NHP chosen for this assignment is Obesity. It is a national
health priority area because in Australia every third person is listed or comes under obese
category and due to which other health issues are increasing and affecting Australian community.
As per a statistics almost 63.4% Australian adults are either obese or overweight (Obesity ratio
Australia, 2019) This assignment will focus on Employment and work social determinant and
Obesity as national heath priority and how they both are related to each other.
MAIN BODY
Discussion about Social determinant of health (SDH) and National health Priority (NHP)
Employment and work is one of the major social determinant of health. As it is one of the
factor that shapes the social position of people. Category distribution of employment and health
is much larger which eventually affects the lifestyle and health conditions of people.
Employment and working conditions of various organisations is completely different which
affects the living standards, lifestyle and health conditions of the people working within those
organisations. Today due to advancement in technology most of the jobs and working
environment is changing, due to which sitting work is increasing. Most of the people working are
doing or prefer sitting jobs which is becoming one of the main reason that obesity within this
employment and work social determinant is increasing (Gupta & Kumari, 2017). According to a
statistics more than 60 percent of working people are obese and this percentage is continuously
increasing. Obesity has become one of the main and chronic health condition which is leading
health issues and illness in Australia. Healthcare system Australia is continuously facing many
challenges in reducing Obesity especially in working population due to which it has become one
of the main National health priority as obesity is the main reason which leads to other health
issues like blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and many other diseases. In order to live a longer
1

and healthier life people need to focus on such chronic condition like Obesity and for this people
require more services from range of service providers (Baker & et. al., 2017). It has also been
observed that risk factor of Obesity is much higher in employment and working class people as
they are mainly focused towards their jobs and fulfilling needs of their families due to which
they completely ignore their health. It has also been observed that lifestyle of working people is
quite different for example most of the time they eat fast food which increases changes of obesity
within people.
Role of nurses in relation to caring of population impacted by SDH and NHP
Nurses play a vital role in controlling obesity within working class people. As they can
help them in controlling their obesity as per their lifestyle and their working conditions and
timings. Nurses play a vital role in controlling obesity and health issues related to obesity
especially within adults. Nurses can help people in identifying the main root cause of their
obesity and how they can control it and live a healthier life (Witten, 2016). Nurses can help in
promoting weight loss in order to reduce obesity among people by making many small changes
within their lifestyle like in their eating habits, living standards, exercises, sleeping habits and
many more. Healthcare professionals and nurses play a vital and important role in raising
awareness about Obesity and health issues or risk related to it. Employment and working class
people get very less time to spend and work on themselves due to which they completely ignore
a chronic issue like obesity. Nurses can help them to bring changes within their lifestyle in such a
way that they work is not affected and they can pay attention to themselves in a better way like
by increasing their activity level, reducing their drinking level, reducing their junk food eating
habits and encouraging them to focus on exercises and healthy diet (Gray & et. al., 2017). An
obese person who is working needs an special multi pronged approach where their behavioural
issues, lifestyle, nutritions, physical activity and a their long term strategy to improve their health
will be improved. This will help them to understand meaning of a healthy life and issues that are
caused due to obesity so that they can focus and improve their weight loss and obesity control
journey for a healthy life.
Ways SDH and NHP are related to each other and strategies to improve health outcomes
Both chosen social determinant of health and national health priority are related to each
other. As the Maximum number of individuals suffering from obesity comes under employment
and working class people. As per a survey more than 50 percent of people are obese in Australia
2

and out of those 50 percent people more than 60 percent of them are adults and within them
every second obese person is a working class individual (Hardy & et. al., 2019). This shows that
both of the social determinant and national health priority are related to each other. So, for this
there are various strategies that are taken by the Australian government to improve health of the
population and reduce their impact and other health issues on an individual. Various kinds of
guidelines and measures are taken by the Australian government that can help individuals to
improve their health. These guidelines also helps in improving overall environmental health.
Employment and work social determinant is mainly affected by these guidelines and measures as
various ethics have been defined that are needed to be followed by all the individuals working in
any organisation. These ethics has also helped in improving the overall organisational culture.
Many guidelines are also set by Australian government related to Alcohol or public health and
use of other harmful substances. These guidelines reduces the usage of Alcohol or any other
substances due to which health of an individual is affected. As per these guidelines alcohol
cannot be consumed by 18 years below individuals. These Alcohol guidelines also states its
harmful effect on health of an individual (Swinburn & et. al., 2015). Public health guidelines
made by government make individuals aware about their health, way obesity in increasing, its
effect on health of an individual and many more. It also helps working class people to focus on
their health and reduce obesity level within them.
Initiatives taken by Australian government to help combat these issues for Employment and
working population and effectiveness of those strategies or initiatives
Australian government has defined National health priority areas that focuses on
improving health issues burden on individuals. Various kinds of health policies and framework
are set for various health issues and diseases. These frameworks and policies are approved by
World health organisation which helps in preventing and reducing chronic health issues and
conditions within an individual. There are various health priority areas that are addressed by the
Australian government and based on those areas various policies and frameworks are set by the
government. Obesity is also one of those area of concern which is increasing the burden of
diseases on an individual (Mihrshahi, Gow & Baur, 2018). These guidelines and policies set by
Australian government is quite effective and efficient as these guidelines and policies has helped
them to increase awareness regarding obesity in working class people. It has also helped in
improving lifestyle and has also increased activity of individuals working. These guidelines has
3

also helped in improving the overall healthcare system of Australia as more and more healthcare
professionals are getting aware of this increasing health priority and is making other aware of
this healthcare issue.
CONCLUSION
From the above assignment it has been concluded that obesity is one of the chronic
healthcare issue that is continuously increasing within Australia. It has also been observed that
employment and working class social determinants of health are the ones who is getting affected
by this National health priority. Due to the working environment, lethargic and lavish lifestyle,
eating habits, less physical activity, obesity is increasing within individuals. It has also been
analysed that obesity is one of the main root cause of other health issues like cholesterol, health
strokes, Blood pressure, diabetes and many more. In order to reduce obesity level Australian
government has made various guidelines, policies which has helped in increasing awareness
about obesity especially in work based social determinants due to which obesity level is
decreasing and health awareness is increasing among individuals.
4

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Castaneda, H. & et. al. (2015). Immigration as a social determinant of health. Annual review of
public health. 36. 375-392.
Gupta, R. K., & Kumari, R. (2017). National Health Policy 2017: An Overview. JK
Science. 19(3). 135-136.
Baker, P. & et. al. (2017). Generating political priority for regulatory interventions targeting
obesity prevention: an Australian case study. Social science & medicine. 177. 141-149.
Witten, K. (2016). Geographies of obesity: environmental understandings of the obesity
epidemic. Routledge.
Gray, J. & et. al. (2017). Is the Counterweight Program a feasible and acceptable option for
structured weight management delivered by practice nurses in Australia? A mixed-
methods study. Australian journal of primary health. 23(4). 348-363.
Hardy, K. & et. al. (2019). Australian parents’ experiences when discussing their child's
overweight and obesity with the Maternal and Child Health nurse: A qualitative
study. Journal of clinical nursing.
Swinburn, B. & et. al. (2015). Strengthening of accountability systems to create healthy food
environments and reduce global obesity. The Lancet. 385(9986). 2534-2545.
Mihrshahi, S., Gow, M. L., & Baur, L. A. (2018). Contemporary approaches to the prevention
and management of paediatric obesity: an Australian focus. Medical Journal of
Australia. 209(6). 267-274.
Online
Obesity ratio Australia. 2019. [Online]. Available through :
<https://renewbariatrics.com/australia-obesity-statistics/>.
5