Introduction
This week we dedicated our time to the discussion of various barriers to health, including structural, systemic, and societal forces that may prevent people from accessing healthcare or achieving best health and well-being. All submitted posts examine these barriers in detail, with the majority focusing on societal and structural obstacles that people from different walks of life may encounter. Notably, a lot of responses focused on the barriers to health experienced by military personnel, in particular, in the navy.
Discussion
Socioeconomic status and background can be viewed as one of primary barriers to health. According to Wang and Geng (2019), socioeconomic status is directly correlated with physical health and may impact one’s metal health. For example, with a higher professional status may have more resources and work autonomy and have more time to engage in healthy activities and care for their health (Wang & Geng, 2019). Meanwhile, people of a lower professional status may not afford or have time to follow a healthy lifestyle and may be exposed to workplace hazards that endanger their health and well-being. Tariq Imran and Joe Ha noted that they have demanding jobs that prevents them to adhere to consistent eating patterns and regular exercise during the work week. Thus, one’s work can impact and shape one health as well as impede an active lifestyle and access to healthcare.
Furthermore, Alexina Karanja highlighted the importance of teamwork in providing patients with high-quality care and ensuring they are supported in their health journey and achieving better outcomes. Social workers and healthcare professional often collaborate in helping patients and their caregivers. Collaborative care teams help patients achieve better mental health outcomes and can be utilized to educate patients and their families and improve their health literacy (Saxe Zerden et al., 2018). In addition, it can be argued that support from a dedicated team of specialists can help patients change their lifestyle and adhere to those changes.
Conclusion
In summary, this week’s discussion helped to understand how these barriers prevent people from adopting health-seeking behaviors as well as emphasized the key role different professionals have in helping people overcome different barriers to health.
References
Saxe Zerden, L. D., Lombardi, B. M., & Jones, A. (2018). Social workers in integrated health care: Improving care throughout the life course. Social Work in Health Care, 58(1), 142–149. Web.
Wang, J., & Geng, L. (2019). Effects of socioeconomic status on physical and psychological health: Lifestyle as a mediator. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(2), 281–290. Web.