A specific social determinant of health that we have discussed in class is early childhood education and development. Throughout the class we learned that some environmental or social factors that can affect children are socioeconomic status, relationships between the child and parent, access to these programs, and stress in their early life. Early childhood programs have shown to have positive outcomes in later life such as reducing crime, increasing income, and promoting education (Campbell et al., 2014). I agree with this statement because the earlier that one is educated the more engraved information becomes in the mind.
A child can be taught right from wrong as they develop which allows for their brain to determine what is considered a crime and what is not as they grow older. It is also shown that high-quality, early childhood interventions are proactive in preventing or delaying later disease in adulthood (Campbell et al., 2014). Again, I agree with this because the more you know the more precautious you are with yourself and your health. For example, teaching a child to wash their hands can prevent them from becoming sick or from spreading germs and as they grow older, they are exposed to more health education which allows for them to know of other ways to be preventative.
According to the article “Early Childhood Investments Substantially Boost Adult Health”, there was a study done by the Carolina Abecedarian Project where they found that children who in these early interventions as well as having health care and the nutritional components, resulted in better health than the children who were not in such programs. The study also found that adults who were age 21 and participated in an early education program showed fewer risky health behavior such as less likely to binge drink alcohol, use drugs that are illegal, or smoke cigarettes(Campbell et al., 2014). I agree with this and I believe that it decreases the risks of later diseases in life because if they are less likely to engage in risky behaviors, they are also less likely in developing chronic diseases such as kidney diseases if they drink excessively, lung cancer if they smoke, or any other diseases that can be caused from risky health behaviors.
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According to the article “Can Education Policy Be Health Policy? Implications of Research on the Social Determinants of Health”, the authors Low, Low, and Baumler state that the early childhood intervention programs such as head start can result in early childhood development to literacy, social skills, and success in school. I also agree with this statement because if a child is not exposed to other children how will they learn to get along with others? The article emphasizes on social determinants of health and the correlations that come within. Policies have been implemented to intervene factors such as health status, life expectancy, and social factors at a national level and in Western countries (Low, Low, Baumler, & Huynh, 2005). Head start programs can also increase access to further education. I believe the more a child is exposed to learning or is exposed to education overall, the more eager they can become to learn more.
Overall, I believe I side with the readings stating that early childhood education can lead to better benefits in later adulthood. It is true that as a child you are most vulnerable in your emotional, cognitive, social, and even physical development and the earlier positive influences are introduced the better the outcomes will be. I also believe that early programs will result in academic success because you are being exposed to how school is structured and by educated teachers who can help a child along his or her way. I can also speak from experience because I was in the head start programs and I grew to be really passionate about my academic success. Intervention policies are also a great to positively affect or improve social determinant of health that many may lack on.
Due to the new policy of smoke-free campuses, as a health consultant from the CSUSB student Health Center I can say that there have been many changes not just on campus but around the community nearby. The CSUSB environment along with the surrounding community now experiences lesser second-hand smoke exposure. The air surrounding our campus is cleaner and those who were non-smokers before are probably more thankful that they do not have to experience second hand smoke from attending school or work. We also have way less litter of cigarette butts around campus. As for those who were smokers, they now have more money in their pocket because they no longer need to buy cigarettes as often as they would if they used to smoke a lot at school. The school also saves money by cigarettes no longer being a liability incase one were to have ever started a fire.
Most importantly everyone’s health is impacted. For the non-smokers, as mentioned before, they no longer experience second hand smoke while being on campus. To the people who were smokers, they now experience longer periods of not having a cigarette which can be better for their health and may also be a stepping stone into one day quitting entirely. They also decrease their chances of not developing chronic diseases later in life. Also, if there were any pregnant women around campus, they no longer need to deal with exposure of the second-hand smoke.
As a health consultant spreading education on the affects that smoking can have is also highly important. Expanding one’s knowledge on the later diseases than can develop from smoking may cause someone to realize that maybe this risky health behavior should be put to an end. If need be, the student health center can also provide workshops or meetings on how to begin the quitting process. With the policy of prohibiting smoking on campus, it is now known to society for that action to be a “bad” thing to do while you are at school. This strongly influences the campus community because smoking on campus is no longer considered a social normality and most people choose to conform to normality instead. Signs and enforcing consequences of smoking on campus are also a big influence on people to not do so.
