What Does social health Mean
The concept of health refers to the physical and mental well-being of an individual. Although the idea is often associated with the absence of disease, health transcends this issue. Social , for its part, is that linked to society (the set of individuals who live in a region and share the same culture).
The notion of social health is associated with the state of well-being that a person has according to the conditions of their environment . The health of the human being, both physical and mental, always depends on the socioeconomic context.
Social health, therefore, focuses on the circumstances that condition the well-being of the subject . It is about those conditions derived from the distribution of resources and power , related to the policies that are developed at the local and international level.
Suppose a person is born and raised in a precarious home, which lacks access to clean water. In his neighborhood there are open dumps and dirt streets that flood when it rains. To access a hospital, you must travel several kilometers, as there are no medical centers in the area .
All these conditions that do to social health affect the well-being of this person, as well as that of all their neighbors. These individuals are in a situation of vulnerability to various diseases derived from their living conditions. To improve the social health of the neighborhood in question, the State should make investments to expand the drinking water service, clean up the environment, build a medical center, etc.
As can be seen, the determinants of social health are all those circumstances that surround people's lives since they are born, and that accompany them throughout their development and their insertion into the system. There are many factors that contribute to the reality of each individual, and most depend on the government and the authorities, since it is they who should guarantee well-being and equal opportunities to all citizens .
One of the most discussed points in this context is public health, since in many countries the free health care service is precarious and insufficient to meet the real needs of the people. Whereas in places like England there is a brilliant network of well-organized, hygienic and free access care centers, there are too many examples of the opposite situation: hospitals where professionals are hostile, waits are too long and hygiene is conspicuous. absence.
Childhood is the key moment in our lives, and it is the time when governments should focus the most to ensure the well-being of the people. Some of the most generalized proposals to achieve social health is to offer all children the same quality of education until they complete their secondary studies: if all people had access to a high-level education from small until they reach youth, it would decrease considerably illiteracy and, consequently, poverty and crime.
Also during childhood but throughout the rest of the growth stages, it is very important to have a favorable environment for personal and professional development. Clean and safe streets, parks in good condition, schools and libraries with a wide variety of genres are some of the fundamental requirements. But in addition to safety, health and access to education, it is very important to offer the population a space for leisure and entertainment, as long as they are taken as sporadic moments that serve to renew energy and continue building.