What is a social health issue?

We need to stand together for better health.

Health is more than an individual's responsibility. We need to stand together and work as a community to tackle the health issues that affect our communities. I hope that this article encourages you to find a social health issue that you are passionate about. Can you decide to make a difference for generations to come?

What is a social health issue?

A social health issue is a problem or challenge related to health that affects a large group of people within a geographic area. Social health issues are classified as local (within a community like water supply and pollution), national (issues that affect the health of a country like health policies such as health insurance) or international and global (health issues that affect the world like unhealthy eating, stress and sleep quality).

List of social health issues

1. World hunger
2. Access to medical care
3. Pollution
4. Mental health and depression
5. Physical inactivity
6. Processed food
7. Vaccinations
8. Dietary guidelines
9. Drinking water
10. Agriculture

Take action!

Why is it important to care about social health issues?

If nobody (or only a few people) cares about health issues that affect a large group of people, meaningful changes that could help millions of people won't happen.

A good example is the hole in the ozone layer. It was a big issue years ago and everybody was concerned about the damage that we were causing to the ozone layer. Companies were put under pressure to create products that didn't damage the ozone layer and we were able to successfully reduce the damage. We still have a long way to go, but the hole was the smallest that it has ever been in 35 years last year.

Big changes happen when people stand together. We can still tackle other issues that plaque our health as a collective.

Stand together.

What is the difference between a social health issue and social health?

Social health refers to an individual's well-being in terms of their relationships and interaction with others. Social health issues are problems that affect the health of a large group of people.

Social health

You are socially healthy when you have a meaningful connection with your friends, family and colleagues. Socially healthy people find it easy to communicate with other people and strangers.

Social health issues

Social health issues relate to the health of a population's environment, the food they eat and the water they drink, their working conditions, access to medical care, health education and a population's health habits. If it affects a large portion of the people within a certain population, it is a social health issue.

Social health issues

Here are some examples are social health issues that we need to address.

1. World hunger

World hunger is the biggest social health challenge that we face today.

Shocking facts about world hunger

Here are some facts about world hunger as it currently stands:

1. Hunger is the world's biggest health problem
2. Someone dies of hunger every second.
3. One of every six people doesn't have enough food.
4. 36 Million People will die of hunger this year.
5. One of the major factors of growing world hunger is raising food prices.
6. Every 5 seconds, a child under the age of 5 dies because of hunger or malnutrition.
7. Almost half of the world's produced food is lost or wasted.
8. Crop pests, ineffective harvesting, irrigation and trashed food are responsible for most of the world's food wastage.
9. 17% of perfectly good food is thrown away. This food is enough to eradicate world hunger.
10. Food production takes more water than anything else done by humans.

What can we, as individuals, do about it? How do we decrease the cost of food production and decrease food wastage? How do we encourage large businesses, government and world leaders to intervene? Does awareness help to solve the problem?

Too many people do nothing.

2. Access to medical care

More than half of the world's population does not have access to proper medical care, while 100 million people (100 000 000 people) are forced into extreme poverty because of medical bills.

This is one of the social health issues that break my heart. I am left wondering about the value of our medical breakthroughs when they don't reach the people who need it the most.

The four components of access to medical care

When we talk about access to medical care as a social health issue, we can break the issue down into 4 main elements.

The four components of access to medical care are:

1. Coverage: Uninsured people have extremely limited access to medical care and are more likely to have a bad health status because of it.
2. Services: Are screening and preventative measures made available to everybody?
3. Timeliness: Do people receive medical care as soon as they need it?
4. Workforce: Are there enough medical care providers in a community? Are they able to tend to health issues and provide the best treatment available?

How do we solve this issue? What can you do as an individual to raise awareness and solve the problem?

Raise awareness.

3. Pollution

Pollution is a health issue because it affects our health. 7 Million People die from air pollution every year. Pollution is a global social health issue.

The health effects of air pollution

1. Leads to fatigue
2. Causes headaches
3. Increases anxiety
4. Irritates the eyes, nose and throat
5. Hampers liver function
6. Places toxins in the blood
7. Damages reproductive organs
8. Harms the spleen
9. Hurts the central nervous system
10. Damages our cardiovascular system
11. Causes respiratory diseases

It's time to do things smarter.

4. Mental health and depression

Over 264 million individuals struggle with depression globally. Almost 800 000 people commit suicide every year.

What Causes depression?

According to WebMD, the causes of depression include:

1. Physical, sexual and emotional abuse
2. Some medications
3. Conflict
4. Death and loss
5. Big life changes
6. Social isolation
7. Other illnesses like diabetes
8. Substance abuse and addiction

If we look at these causes, we can see that many of the causes can be eliminated through collaboration as a community.

Do we, as a community, stand up to abuse and do we have enough resources readily available to people who need it? How can we improve the development of medicine so that it treats illness without negative side effects? 

How do we educate the community to help people who struggle to cope with loss? Do education systems and media outlets successfully educate the public about social inclusiveness? 

How can we promote a healthier lifestyle to individuals? What is the best way for law enforcement to reduce the availability of substances? Mental health is everyone's responsibility.

Mental health is in everybody's hands.

5. Physical inactivity

Physical inactivity is a lack of exercise that leads to a variety of health problems. It is another important social health issue and it affects almost every part of the global population. Lack of exercise is an individual issue as well as a social health issue because it affects so many people. 

The health effects of physical inactivity include:

1. Slow metabolism and lack of energy
2. Decreased blood flow
3. Declining mental and emotional health
4. Fat gain and muscle loss
5. Toxin buildup
6. Decreased immunity
7. Cardiovascular disease

Do we do enough to create a culture where it is considered normal to exercise every day? Should companies make their offices more exercise friendly? How do we promote a healthier lifestyle as a community?

Encourage people to exercise more.

6. Processed food

Processed food is profitable, easy to produce, cheap, lasts longer on the shelves, tastes good and is easily accessible to almost everybody in the developed world. Lots of important nutrients are lost during the manufacturing process of these kinds of food. Chemicals such as preservatives, artificial flavors and colors, sweeteners and sugars are added to them.

For those reasons, the first step to a healthy diet is to eliminate all processed food.

The negative health effects of eating processed food:

See the above link for more information about how processed food damages your body.

1. Lack of important nutrients
2. Over consumption of harmful chemicals
3. Slow metabolism
4. Sugar addiction
5. Weight gain
6. High cholesterol
7. Diabetes
8. Heart disease
9. Metabolic syndrome
10. Insulin resistance
11. Toxic buildup

Processed food

As a social health issue, how do we address the unhealthy nature of processed food? Do we ban harmful substances? Should we monitor the manufacturing process or enforce the inclusion of certain nutrients? How do we encourage the public to eat a healthier diet?

Other examples of social health issues

There are other examples of social health issues that need to be addressed. Here are a few of them:

1. Vaccinations

This is a trending social health issue at the moment. How dangerous are vaccinations? How do we make them safer?

2. Dietary guidelines

Many people believe that current dietary guidelines are out of date. How accurate are our current dietary guidelines? Are the same guidelines appropriate for everybody? How do we ensure that everybody meets their daily minimum requirements of important nutrients?

3. Drinking water

Safe drinking water is another social health issue that is of enormous importance. The number of communities that don't have access to clean drinking water is overwhelming. There aren't enough people who are committed to providing a solution to the problem and many people are dying because of it.

4. Agriculture

Pesticides, fertilizers, hormones and other chemicals are used in agriculture for the production of food. What health consequences does this have for the people in the immediate vicinity of these agricultural productions? How do these chemicals affect consumers at the end of the production line? Can we find solutions that are cheaper, more efficient and healthier to everybody involved?

Start by doing something small.

Get involved with a social health issue

The world wouldn't have any social health issues (or any social issues in general) if everybody stepped in to help. The people who are most able to help are generally too concerned with their own lives. Helping others is one of the most rewarding ways of finding happiness.

How can I help?

A lot of people don't get involved in a social health issue because they don't know where to begin or they don't know what they can do. Here's how you can make a difference:

1. Find a social health issue that you are passionate about.
2. Research groups of people who are involved in the issue.
3. Join their group or start your own.
4. Promote them on social media, raise awareness and get other people involved.
5. Dedicate a set amount of your time, every week, to improve the situation.
6. Raise funds and donate some of your own money to charities and organizations.
7. Cut out one negative habit and use that money to help someone in need.

Get up and do something.

What social health issues do you care about? What are you doing to make a positive difference? Let me know in the comments below. Stay Strong!

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