SDOH Affecting the Family
Social determinants of health (SDOH) generally represent conditions in the environment where people live, work, and interact with one another. They include but are not limited to socioeconomic status, employment, the capacity to access affordable and safe housing, healthcare services, as well as affordable and healthy food. The variability in access to the mentioned resources has a direct influence on a population’s health outcomes, rates of disease, and illness. Notably, research has shown that SDOH has disproportionately affected Black communities to which the family in question belongs, even though it is a mixed-race family (Feller, 2020). Due to the persistence of systemic racism, Black people are more likely to endure financial difficulties, have less access to social services, and thus have higher chances of having poor health outcomes.
The factors characterizing communities of color have a significant impact on health and access to health care, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2021) and other scholars concluding that Black communities experience more disease burden. A higher burden of illness for a population tends to result in higher numbers of complications and increased rates of mortality and morbidity as compared to other ethnic groups (Mcgrath et al., 2019). In addition, it is important to note that the COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the negative impact of SDOH on communities of color as it has emphasized the persistent inequalities that got worse during the public health crisis. To maintain good health overall, the family has to withstand the challenges posed by SDOH.
Recommended Age-Appropriate Screenings
Because the mother has diabetes, she is recommended to have regular screenings to monitor her condition and make treatment adjustments as necessary. Quarterly, the mother should test blood pressure, A1C, and cholesterol. Every six months, she should get dental exams, kidney and foot examinations, as well as get an electrocardiogram. The rationale for a large number of tests is her age and diabetes diagnosis, which requires regular and consistent monitoring of all conditions. For the father, it is recommended to have annual prostate checks, monitor blood sugar and cholesterol, carry out a colonoscopy every year, as well as include eye and dental exams, all of which are tests that men after forty should get.
For the fifteen-year-old daughter, no specialized screenings are necessary, just regular checkups, which include immunizations, dental and vision checkups, blood pressure, and blood sugar monitoring. It is important to implement blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring because the girl’s mother has a history of diabetes. For the two twins, who are eight years old, general yearly screenings should be carried out, ensuring that all immunizations for their age are completed.
Health Model: The Family Health Model
Researchers have used several health models for showing the vital links that exist between families and health in general. The available models tend to reach consensus that health is being socially developed within the family unit, which is embedded in a larger context of community and society. Such factors as family beliefs, behaviors, values, daily routines, and decisions, which develop as a result of specific interactions within and outside the limits of a household, have great implications for family members’ health (Hanson et al., 2019). The Family Health Model is the most appropriate to be applied in the current case as it provides an ecological framework in which health production depends on the domains within contextual, functional, and structural realms (Hanson et al., 2019). The model shows that health begins at home and is inevitably influenced by the family. This means that from an evidence-based perspective, family-focused interventions become the emphasis of care for families. The model fits the current context and the family in question because it encompasses primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention in which the family is recognized as the central unit that can either facilitate or limit the success of interventions.
Family-Centered Health Promotion
Both primary and secondary prevention efforts matter in family-centered health promotion targeting the family in question. While it is necessary to prevent disease and illness from occurring among kids, secondary-level prevention is to be carried out with the mother and the father, who already have underlying conditions to monitor. The most appropriate strategy is communicating the idea of wellness and a healthy lifestyle that the entire family can sustain together through collaboration and mutual support. Because the younger daughter believed that her parents did not impose enough accountability upon their children, it may be a good idea to establish an expectation of healthy life choices. The recommended communication strategy intended to strengthen ties between family members entails the assignment of responsibilities for each individual and then holding regular discussions about progress. When every member of the family is involved in the promotion of a healthy lifestyle within their unit, they are more likely to stay interested and engaged. The results of the intervention may be discussed with the family physician, who can adjust strategies as necessary and communicate any arising concerns about health.
References
CDC. (2021). Racism and health. Web.
Feller, M. (2020). Black people are often unfairly blamed for health disparities—Which ignores everything we know about being well. Web.
Hanson, C. L., Crandall, A., Barnes, M. D., Magnusson, B., Novilla, M. L. B., & King, J. (2019). Family-focused public health: Supporting homes and families in policy and practice. Frontiers in Public Health, 7, 59. Web.
McGrath, R. P., Snih, S. A., Markides, K. S., Faul, J. D., Vincent, B. M., Hall, O. T., & Peterson, M. D. (2019). The burden of health conditions across race and ethnicity for aging Americans: Disability-adjusted life years. Medicine, 98(46), e17964. Web.
