Question

With reference to the psychosocial model health, identify how inequalities in health could impact the wellbeing of adults. 1000 words

Answer 1

Unequal distribution of the social determinants of health, such as education, housing and
employment, drives inequalities in physical and mental health. There is also extensive evidence
that ‘psychosocial’ factors, such as work stress, influence health and wellbeing.
The term ‘psychosocial’ relates to the way that social factors affect states of mind.
This report highlights the current evidence that exists about the relationships between social
determinants, psychosocial factors and health outcomes. It also provides a conceptual
framework that focuses on the psychosocial pathways between factors associated with social,
economic and environmental conditions, psychological and psychobiological processes, health
behaviours and mental and physical health outcomes.
The accumulation of positive and negative effects of social, economic and environmental
conditions on health and wellbeing throughout life is largely responsible for inequalities in
health.
Taking a social determinants of health approach to tackling health inequalities requires an understanding of the social, economic and environmental aspects of the context in which people live in order to develop policies and interventions that help to address the factors that
shape physical and mental health and health behaviours “While psychosocial stress is not the only route through which disadvantage affects outcomes, it does appear to be pivotal.”
Health follows a social gradient. Higher social position, whether measured by education,
income or occupational status, is associated with better health and longevity. A growing body of
evidence shows that population health is determined to a great extent by social, environmental,
economic, political and cultural factors (the social determinants of health). A key way that
social determinants affect health is via psychosocial pathways.
This report builds on the conceptual model developed by the WHO Commission on Social .
Determinants of Health (CSDH) to help increase understanding of the factors that cause the
social gradient in health and to identify ways to level up the gradient. Exposures and
vulnerabilities arise from the material conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and
age, the extent of social cohesion in a society, psychosocial factors, health-related behaviours
and biological factors.
links between social determinants, psychosocial factors, health-related
behaviours, mental health and wellbeing and physical health. Associations between various
factors in this conceptual framework are complex and comprise a field of active current
research and debate among the scientific community.
The term ‘psychosocial’ connects the social environment to psychological states that constitute
aspects of mental wellbeing. ‘Psychosocial factors’ are understood as encompassing the nexus
between social conditions and experiences and psychological states.
Unequal distribution of the social determinants of health drives inequalities in physical and
mental health while extensive evidence supports the role of psychosocial
pathways in determining health status. The seminal Whitehall II longitudinal study on
work and health has provided substantial evidence for the psychosocial pathway to health.
A systematic review of research on the relationship between psychosocial factors
and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancer found that psychosocial factors, in
particular high demands from jobs, low autonomy, low control or high effort–reward
imbalance, interpersonal conflicts and low social support or low trust, play an important role
in explaining CVD and cancer outcomes, although the review reported that the evidence for a relationship between psychosocial factors and cancer was not as strong as for CVDs.