Nursing

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Nursing
What are social determinants of health?
Social determinants of health are the conditions in the environment where individuals are born, live, learn and age that affect a broad range of health functioning and quality of life results. These determinants are the social factors that contribute to an individual’s state of health. They include the income and discrimination, as well as structural and societal factors. Basically, social determinants of health are the social factors and structures that play a significant role in health inequities.
How do social determinants of health contribute to the development of illness?
Health is taken care at our homes, schools, communities and workplaces. Every individual is aware that taking care of themselves by eating well, staying active, avoiding smoking and visiting a doctor when sick all play a crucial role in their health status. Therefore, the development of illnesses is partly determined by the access to social resources and structures that are available in homes, communities, schools, workplaces. These include the safety in workplaces, the cleanliness of food and water as well as the nature of social interactions (USA Families, 3). For instance, consuming unclean food will definitely lead to the development of illnesses. Likewise, discrimination at workplaces could also result in the development of illnesses such as depression.
What is a communicable disease chain?
According to CDC 1, a communicable disease chain is a continuous series of a disease process that begins when a disease causative agent leaves its host via a given portal, is passed by some form of transmission and enters the body through a given entry to end up infecting a susceptible host.

Are there steps that a nurse can take to break a link within the communicable disease chain? Give a specific example.
There are steps that can be followed in breaking a link within the communicable disease. For instance when it comes to a disease such as cholera, the infection’s portal of exit is through feces. Therefore, this infection can be broken at its portal of exit by educating the affected persons on proper disposal of feces and the importance of washing hands regularly with soap and water after visiting loos. The mode of transmission is through contaminated food or water and therefore the step towards breaking this link is educating communities on the importance of consuming safe and clean food by showing them how to boil water and decontaminate food.
Works Cited
CDC. “Principles of Epidemiology | Lesson 1 – Section 10.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 May 2012, www.cdc.gov/ophss/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section10.html. Accessed 24 Aug. 2018.
USA, Families. “Families USA.” Families USA, familiesusa.org/%20World%20Health%20Organization%20(WHO)%20website:%20www.who.int. Accessed 24 Aug. 2018.