scholarly journals Unsafe abortion: social determinants and health inequities in a vulnerable population in São Paulo, Brazil

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen L. B. Fusco ◽  
Rebeca de Souza e Silva ◽  
Solange Andreoni

This cross-sectional population-based study in a peripheral low-income community in São Paulo, Brazil, aimed to estimate the prevalence of unsafe abortion and identify the socio-demographic characteristics associated with it and its morbidity. The article discusses the study's results, based on univariate and multiple multinomial logistic regression analyses. The final regression models included: age at first intercourse < 16 years (OR = 4.80); > 2 sex partners in the previous year (OR = 3.63); more live born children than the woman's self-reported ideal number (OR = 3.09); acceptance of the abortion due to insufficient economic conditions (OR = 4.07); black ethnicity/color (OR = 2.67); and low schooling (OR = 2.46), all with p < 0.05. The discussion used an approach to social determinants of health based on the concept and model adopted by the WHO and the health inequities caused by such determinants in the occurrence of unsafe abortion. According to the findings, unsafe abortion and socio-demographic characteristics are influenced by the social determinants of health described in the study, generating various levels of health inequities in this low-income population.

Author(s):  
Josie Wittmer ◽  
Kate Parizeau

We explore informal recyclers’ perceptions and experiences of the social determinants of health in Vancouver, Canada, and investigate the factors that contribute to the environmental health inequities they experience. Based on in-depth interviews with 40 informal recyclers and 7 key informants, we used a social determinants of health framework to detail the health threats that informal recyclers associated with their work and the factors that influenced their access to health-related resources and services. Our analysis reveals that the structural factors influencing environmental health inequities included insufficient government resources for low-income urbanites; the potential for stigma, clientization, and discrimination at some health and social service providers; and the legal marginalization of informal recycling and associated activities. We conclude that Vancouver's informal recyclers experience inequitable access to health-related resources and services, and they are knowledgeable observers of the factors that influence their own health and well-being.


Author(s):  
Hyunjin Noh ◽  
Hee Y. Lee ◽  
Lewis H. Lee ◽  
Yan Luo

Background: Despite the need for hospice care as our society ages, adults in the U.S.’s southern rural region have limited awareness of hospice care. Objective: This study aims to assess the rate of awareness of hospice care among rural residents living in Alabama’s Black Belt region and examine social determinants of health (SDH) associated with the awareness. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample living in Alabama’s Black Belt region (N = 179, age = 18-91). Participants’ awareness of hospice care, demographic characteristics (ie, age and gender), and SDH (ie, financial resources strain, food insecurity, education and health literacy, social isolation, and interpersonal safety) were assessed. Lastly, a binary logistic regression was used to examine the association between SDH and hospice awareness among participants while controlling for demographic characteristics. Results: The majority of participants had heard of hospice care (n = 150, 82.1%), and older participants (50 years old or older) were more likely to report having heard of hospice care ( OR = 7.35, P < 0.05). Participants reporting worries about stable housing (OR = 0.05, P < 0.05) and higher social isolation were less likely to have heard of hospice care ( OR = 0.53, P < 0.05), while participants with higher health literacy had a higher likelihood to have heard of it ( OR = 2.60, P < 0.01). Conclusions: Our study is the first study assessing the status of hospice awareness among residents of Alabama’s Black Belt region. This study highlighted that factors including age and certain SDH (ie, housing status, health literacy, and social isolation) might be considered in the intervention to improve hospice awareness.


2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn R. Currie ◽  
Kirsten Fiest ◽  
Lindsay Guyn

The effect of social determinants of health on depression prevalence and treatment access was examined using community survey and administrative data on mental health service users in the Calgary Health Region (CHR). Consistent with national prevalence data, depression was significantly associated with female gender, younger age, and health risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and obesity. The prevalence of depression causing interference in daily functioning across 19 social districts (subregions within the CHR) was significantly related to community-level indicators of single-parent status, low-income families, and low educational achievement in each district. Disparities in treatment access were also found with persons living in the most impoverished districts having the lowest rates of accessing professional mental health services.


2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Marmot ◽  
Ruth Bell

From the start, the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health built its case for taking action on the social determinants of health, unashamedly, on principles of social justice. Quite simply, the Commission stated that health inequities in the sense of avoidable and preventable differences in health between countries, and between groups within countries according to income, occupation, education, ethnicity or between men and women, are unjust. Taking this position has brought praise and blame: praise for the Commission’s boldness in putting fairness on the global health agenda1 in the face of the dominant global model of economic growth as an end in itself, and blame for the Commission’s unworldliness in apparently not recognising that economic arguments push the political agenda.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Borde

Abstract Background One of the most marked characteristics of the global social structure is the existence of substantial social inequalities in wealth, which also find expression in health inequalities between and within countries. In an effort to provide an overview of the conceptual debates shaping the mobilisation around social determinants of health and health inequities, two of the most influential approaches in the field are compared: the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health approach (CSDH), strongly influenced by European Social Medicine, and the Latin American Social Medicine and Collective Health (LASM-CH) Social determination of the health-disease process approach, hitherto largely invisibilized. Methods A comprehensive literature review was conducted in three databases (Lilacs, Scielo, Medline/Pubmed), reference lists of selected papers, and citations in Google Scholar, including book titles. Results It is argued that the debates shaping the SDH agenda do not merely reflect terminological and conceptual differences, but essentially different ethical-political proposals that define the way health inequities are understood and proposed to be transformed. Conclusions While the health equity and SDH agenda probably also gained momentum due to the broad political alliance it managed to consolidate, it is necessary to make differences explicit as this allows for an increase in the breadth and specificity of the debate, facilitating the recognition of contextually relevant proposals towards the reduction of health inequities. Key messages Debates shaping the SDH agenda do not merely reflect terminological or conceptual differences, but distinct ethical-political proposals. Differences need to be discussed and made explicit to guide the development of contextually relevant efforts to reduce health inequities.


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