Health is shaped by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. What are some of these factors and how do they impact health, particularly the health of lower income communities?
As soon as we are born we are affected by where we live and by our access to clothes, food, and transportation. This causes a huge disadvantage in lower income areas that tend to have less resources. According to the City of Berkeley status health report, POC are way more likely to have premature births, be hospitalized for diabetes and hypertension, and have a higher mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease. If we accomplish our goals of making the SFROW into a green space we will most definitely make an improvement of these peoples social determinants of health, life span, and their overall well-being. I want to make south Berkeley into a better place for the people today and in the future. - Angel Espiritu, 11th grade Some of the social determinants of health that people in today’s society face are income and social status, physical environments, education, and literacy. These are also some of the factors that cause people to have health disadvantages. Some people who are affected by the income and social status factor can not get the health care they deserve because of lack of access. If they receive a low income they’d find themselves struggling to be able to pay medication or hospital bills. That income is determined by their social status. For example, recently the president of the United States announced being positive about having COVID. During his recovery, he explained to the public that his recovery was very easy and how the media have exaggerated the seriousness of this virus. But what he fails to realize is that he has a very high social status and so his health care and treatment to COVID will be very different to those of low income and social status. We look forward to working on green space development at the SFROW so that the community who are affected by these social factors have a place to be a healthier person by exercising and having an overall better advantage to their health. - Sol Valenica Topete, 11th grade Health is determined by one's social and economic conditions. The access to clean water, food and air; preventative health care and wellness programs; relationships; and resources available in one’s neighborhoods are the conditions known as the social determinants of health. The Inequities that exist in the social determinants of health most often negatively impact people of color and low-income as they are the ones who disproportionately get the least amount of access to principal resources. A status report made by the city of Berkeley in 2018 contained data in which it showed that the mortality rates of all cardiovascular disease from African Americans were exponentially higher than any other race or ethnicity in Berkeley. Same went for hospitalization rates due to long term diabetes. A graph also showed that a majority of African Americans living in Berkeley were tenating on the south side. Whether it be because of individual determinants or a bigger systemic problem, the fact is that the community doesn’t get the same amount of access to crucial necessities as other parts of Berkeley. At Moving South Berkeley Forward we realize and are mindful of the fact that every individual in our community deals with differing social determinants that ultimately affect their health and quality of life. It is an undertaking as an organization that represents South Berkeley to provide a space in which we can help supply the necessary resources that people of the community need. - Daniel Finis Perez, 11th grade
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