Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants of health are the things that can affect a person's health and wellness due to the place where they live or work. Some examples of these things are: education, transportation, employment, housing, access to health care, etc. This is where health begins. Living and working conditions have a huge impact on one's health, though many times these factors are disregarded by practitioners. For one person, his/her social determinants of health could enable him/her to great healthcare, good education, and stable employment, whereas another person living in a different area could not have access to these things simply because of the area he/she lives.

When I think of how social determinants of health can affect your nervous system, I immediately think of stress. Stress has a huge impact on our physical and mental health. Although a little stress is needed to survive and thrive, too much stress can negatively impact our bodies. Living in an area where it is difficult to gain access to transportation, good healthcare, or proper education could cause a lot of stress. With much stress comes increased levels of cortisol. This in turn causes an enlarged amygdala, reduced number of connections in the hippocampus, and shutting down of the prefrontal cortex. With an impaired PFC, a person would have trouble with decision making, self-control, planning, problem solving, and more.

UTHSC's OT program requirements for service/professional development hours facilitates preparedness in us as students because we gain knowledge through hands-on learning and real experiences. In my opinion, that is the best way to learn. Throughout our experiences obtaining these hours, we will come into contact with people from all walks of life who we may not have ever spent time with if not for this requirement. We will see real life examples of these social determinants and their effects, good and bad. I believe this broadens our horizons on interacting with people which will in turn make us more prepared as OT practitioners.