Factors affecting Health and

Disease Pattern (Part II)

Medical Geography
 Introduction
• Health is determined by several factors including genetic
inheritance, personal behaviors, access to quality health care,
and the general external environment (such as the quality of air,
water, and housing conditions).
• In addition, a growing body of research has documented
associations between socio-economic and cultural factors and
health patterns.
• The social determinants of health can be conceptualized as
influencing health at multiple levels throughout the life course.

• Socio-Economic Factors
• Cultural Factors
• Political Factors
 Socio- Economic Factors affecting Health
and disease Patterns
• It is plausible that greater economic resources
would provide individuals with more
resources to cope with both everyday and
special challenges, and that limited economic
resources in themselves can create stress(e.g.,
due to residential crowding, food insecurity,
worry about making ends meet in general, and
family conflict related to these stressors).
 Continued
• These include:
• Socio- economic Status/ Economic Hardships
• Income
• Occupational Status
• Educational Attainment
• Nutritional Intake
• Living Standard
• Job Stress
• Access to health insurance and Health care facilities
 Continued
• Income and social status - higher income and
social status are linked to better health. The
greater the gap between the richest and
poorest people, the greater the differences in
health.
• Education – low education levels are linked
with poor health, more stress and lower self-
confidence.
 Cultural Factors affecting Health and Disease
Patterns
• Culture is the core, fundamental, dynamic, responsive, adaptive, and
relatively coherent organizing system of life designed to
(1) ensure the survival and well-being of its members, and
(2)provide common ways to find meaning and purpose throughout
life, and to communicate caring.
• This system is composed of beliefs, values, and lifestyles to successfully
adapt within a biotic and abiotic geographic niche using available
technology and economic resources.
• Culture makes sickness and death more comprehensible and
manageable through specific beliefs, values, and rituals that provide the
answer to “why” and also provides social and personal means to manage
the crisis by shaping appropriate emotional reactions and behavioral
responses to the disease and norms regarding how one’s social network
communicates caring, provides safety, and social support.
 Continued
• These Include:
• Food Intake
• Brought up of Children
• Gender Biasness
• Religious Practices
• Social Support and Social Network
• Taboo and Stigmatization
 Continued
• Some patients are unaware of germ theory and may
instead believe in fatalism, a djinn (in rural Afghanistan,
an evil spirit that seizes infants and is responsible for
tetanus-like illness), the 'evil eye', or a demon.
• In many cultures, depression is a common stigma and
seeing a psychiatrist means a person is “crazy”.
• Obesity is treated in some cultures as a symbol of
beauty and strength
• Certain diseases like HIV, AIDs and STDs are
considered a matter of shame and social taboo in most
cultures and their treatment becomes difficult
Continued
• Social support networks – greater support
from families, friends and communities is
linked to better health. Culture - customs and
traditions, and the beliefs of the family and
community all affect health.
• As social support provides love, affection, care
and non material resources that are helpful in
improving health and so on.
 Continued
• Culture also affects health in other ways, such as:
• Acceptance of a diagnosis, including who should be told, when and how.
• Acceptance of preventive or health promotion measures (e.g., vaccines,
prenatal care, birth control, screening tests, etc.).
• Perception of the amount of control individuals have in preventing and
controlling disease.
• Perceptions of death, dying and who should be involved.
• Use of direct versus indirect communication. Making or avoiding eye
contact can be viewed as rude or polite, depending on culture.
• Willingness to discuss symptoms with a health care provider, or with an
interpreter being present.
• Influence of family dynamics, including traditional gender roles, filial
responsibilities, and patterns of support among family members.
• Perceptions of youth and aging.
• How accessible the health system is, as well as how well it functions.
Political Factors affecting Health and Disease
Patterns
• These include:
• Govt. Policies
• Political Influences
• Health care Facilities
• Environmental Laws
• Law and Order Situation
 Continued
• Policies at the local, state, and federal level affect individual
and population health. Increasing taxes on tobacco sales, for
example, can improve population health by reducing the
number of people using tobacco products.
• Some policies affect entire populations over extended
periods of time while simultaneously helping to change
individual behavior. For example, the 1966 Highway Safety
Act and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act
authorized the Federal Government to set and regulate
standards for motor vehicles and highways. This led to an
increase in safety standards for cars, including seat belts,
which in turn reduced rates of injuries and deaths from
motor vehicle accidents.
 Important Links
• https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/20/2/187/827479
• http://www.euro.who.int/__
data/assets/pdf_file/0010/74674/E86766.pdf
• https://
www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/organisa
tion-management/5b-understanding-ofs/assessing-impact-exte
rnal-influences
• https://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/
• https://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc331a.pdf
• https://
www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-meas
ures/Determinants-of-Health
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114612/
• https://international.commonwealthfund.org/features/govern