M4-A1 SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH IMPACT ANALYSIS

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to increase your knowledge of the link between social

determinants of health (SDOH) and a high priority health issue in the country chosen for the final

paper and to share that information with another health care provider.

Overview

Several factors come together to create an individual’s health status. The conditions in which

people are born, live, work, and age can be as influential in determining an individual’s health

status as the quality of diagnosis and treatment. Health care professionals need to understand the

influence of these underlying conditions to deliver the best health care possible. A good example

of how these factors are intertwined is the Carter Center’s work in eradicating the guinea worm

in Africa and Asia. To quote from the website:

When The Carter Center began leading the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease in 1986, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in at least 21 countries in

Africa and Asia. Today, that number has been reduced by more than 99.99 percent. In 2020, 27* human cases of Guinea worm disease were reported worldwide. Between

January 1 and June 30 of 2021 five human cases have been reported.

https://www.cartercenter.org

One of the major strategies used to reach this goal was teaching individuals to filter drinking

water and to not go into water if infected. This was difficult for several reasons: (a) lack of

health care practitioners in the largely rural area, (b) the insecurity in some areas related to

conflict, and (c) cost of filtration equipment. The coordination of effort across several

organizations led to the success.

The group of factors included in the SDOH are: (a) economic stability, (b) education access and

quality, (c) social and community context, (d) health care access and quality, (e) neighborhood

and built environment. Review the resources listed in the Instructional Materials for this module

to learn more about the SDOH.

The focus of this assignment is twofold: (a) to strengthen your understanding of the impact of at

least one of the social determinants of health on a priority health issue in the country you have

chosen as the focus for the final paper and (b) to share that understanding with another health

care professional. You will write a 300-to-350 word paper plus an email (200-250 words) that

meet the following criteria:

SDOH Impact paper, continued

1. The paper will contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. An appropriately

formatted student paper title page must be included. See the relevant section of the APA

Publication Manual, 7th ed.

2. Provide a short description of the country.

3. Identify the (2 or 3) health issues with the highest priority in the chosen country.

Document these choices. Choose one as the focus for the rest of this document. Describe

the global health indicators you are using to identify the priority health issue.

4. Identify the SDOH that has the most impact on the chosen health issue. Be sure to fully

describe the SDOH and make the connection between it and the health issue very clear.

5. Include a minimum of three (3) references. One (1) reference must be a scholarly article.

References must be no more than five (5) years old. There are no exceptions to this

requirement. The Skolnik article may be used but does not count as one of the three

references. For this one paper the list of references does not need to be on a separate

page.

6. The email will begin two double spaces below the last reference. Start the reference with

the date. Format the rest of the email as described in the Instructional Materials section

of this module.

7. Direct the email to any healthcare provider who is NOT a nurse. Make sure that the

discipline of the healthcare provider is clear in the email. You do not know whether this

healthcare provider is or is not aware of the SDOH literature; consequently, SDOH

information must be provided without offending the healthcare professional.

• Provide a brief description of the concept of SDOH.

• Explain the link between the SDOH and the identified healthcare priority. It is

possible that more than one of the SDOH categories will be applicable.

• Support your choices with scholarly references. You must use a minimum of

three (3) references. These references may be the same as those used in the paper

part of this assignment if they are clearly appropriate. Again, the Skolnik article

may be used but does not count as one of the two required references.

• The length of the email is to be between 200 and 250 words.

CLICK on the link titled “M4-A1 SDOH Impact ANALYSIS/EMAIL Submission Area” to

submit the assignment.

Point Value: 25

Due Date: See Course Calendar/Checklist

See Rubric #5 for evaluation/grading guidelines

August 2021