Determinant Factors Influencing Health in New Zealand

1. Identify, assess and discuss both direct and indirect impact on health the following determinants have with regards to planning, implementation, and the evaluation of health interventions.

Determinant factors:

1. Demographic distribution of population
2. Political values
3. Religious beliefs
4. Human values
5. Ethnicity
6. Traditions

Introduction:

A good health means not only being free from disease condition but also physical, social, psychological and spiritual well being. It depends on various determinant factors which affect the daily health status of an individual hence these factors combine with each other and greatly affect the health of individual and communities. In other words, environment and circumstances determine the health status of any human being. However, factors such as education, genetics, income, interpersonal relationship or we can say that determinants such as social, economic, physical and individual behaviour and characteristics affect the health status directly and indirectly to a large extent and leads to poor health status of individual, family and community.

Determinant factors:

1. Demographic distribution of population: it means settlement pattern of any specific population or migrants in any particular geographical area. However, geographical distribution should done as according to the living area space, employment, support for the family and the community. For example in New Zealand 97% pacific population is living in urban areas, 92% in main urban area and 66% living in Auckland urban areas. Instead of this, demographic distribution of population has direct impact on the health. Because health status affected with the change in population, population growth, family size, social and economic development. In addition to it, these factors have direct impact on mortality and morbidity rate. It has also direct impact on the fertility rate which is on large scale affect the child survival, but may also through biological capability if women who is sick but she is bearing children. Instead of this, some processes such as screening the potential migrants for any specific or particular disease condition or any other disorders are also mechanisms with which health status is directly give impact on the population change as well as on the size and composition of the population.

 

In another words, it also has indirect impact on the health status. It includes infectious disease, person’s behaviour, income, education, marital status, environmental conditions such as the federal poverty level etc.

2. Political values: Political values also affect the health status of the individual, family and community. Political values play a vital role in decision making about the health care policies as well as public participation. During policy making related to health care system, it depends upon the political system such as democratic or autocratic. Policy process implemented the screening programme for bowel cancer that evidence can be much contested during planning.

 

So, it provides quality of services for the care of health of the people and most of these are provided at free of cost for the public. These services are directly and indirectly affect the health of community people.

3. Religious beliefs: in the whole world, there are a lot of cultures, religious and beliefs. According to the cultural belief, there is a lot of affect on health status. For example in some culture there is belief to eat diet which is non vegetarian but in another culture non vegetarian diet is beneficial for health to meet the health requirements.

 

Instead of this, in the health care system, some doctors also do diagnosis of some illness and in the treatment of these illnesses they prescribe the diet according to the culture and beliefs of the client. Instead of this human body needs some essential diet for performing daily job but because of cultural belief they do not like to eat that food. Cultural difference is the difference which affects the attitude of the patient towards the medical care as well as the ability of patient to understand, manage and cope with the disease condition with the alteration in the diet.

4. Human values: :- Human values is the good determinant of the health. Human values include the factors like honesty, caring, love, respect, faith. Honesty is the good values factors in the people. These all factors directly influence impact of health. If the senior person can take the love, care and respect from their families and society then these can promote the health status and people become happy in their life.

 

Instead of this, there is also indirect impact of human values on the health. This determinant indirectly also effect the health. If the person is not taking the respect and nobody can like, so these situations create the effect on the health. Person can feel lonely and sometimes they can commit the suicide. There are many reasons of these situations like aging, education, social status and so on. Otherwise, most of families can separate their grandparents. So, grandparents feel so bad and lonely. At this stage, health condition could be worse day by day and these people not shore their feelings.

5. Ethnicity: Ethnicity is also known as racism and is a primary determinant of health. Ethnicity proves the inherent superiority of the person and status in the society. Radicalization is a social process where all are designated by racism categories like Asian, black, Negros etc. There is direct impact on the health status of an individual of the ethnicity. Ethnicity influences the heath and health behaviors by increasing the stimulation physiological stress response of person. These stress response creates the negative emotional states like anxiety, depression and low self esteem. So, these all changes the biological processes i.e. Immune system. Direct impact of racism also on the health behaviors and creating self harm, negative coping responses. If these situations are continue for a long time this can lead to serious detrimental effects on health system like cardiovascular and immune system. But in other words, with the direct affect there is also indirect affect of ethnicity. Ethnicity influence the health indirectly by different exposure and opportunities related to determinants of health. This can create the disproportionate level related to poverty, inadequate housing, and exposure to toxic or hazardous substances. In this, there is no equal access to social, economic, political, and cultural systems that determine the distribution of society’s resources due to racial characteristics.

6. Traditions: Traditions is the main determinants of health. Social responsibility of the tradition is to inform about the health policy by promoting the health through community organizations activities.

Gender role and relations also having a direct impact on health. Different culture in the society and all people belongs to the different cultures, norms. These traditions are related to customs, diet, health activities and so on. Like dietary habits, these are different in Indian people as comparison to the New Zealand people. As we look on the indirect effect on the health are also present. These tradition influences the people of different traditions and sometimes they adopt the traditions. For example in the foreign countries most of the people are doing smoking and this is not good for health. Many Indian people that are came in these countries. Smoking is most common and by this they have indirectly create impact on the coming people. Sometimes they can start smoking.

Conclusion: on the human body there is great influence of the health determinant factors. In the medical field, various people are having different caste, race, age, culture, religion etc. but instead of this the environment influences the health status of every person equally. But it depends that how any individual’s health which deals with that particular problem and how much becomes adoptable to that environment. However, various services for the maintenance of health are provided by the government and the health sectors.