M4-A1 SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH IMPACT ANALYSIS
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to increase your knowledge of the link between social
determinants of health (SDOH) and a high priority health issue in the country chosen for the final
paper and to share that information with another health care provider.
Overview
Several factors come together to create an individual’s health status. The conditions in which
people are born, live, work, and age can be as influential in determining an individual’s health
status as the quality of diagnosis and treatment. Health care professionals need to understand the
influence of these underlying conditions to deliver the best health care possible. A good example
of how these factors are intertwined is the Carter Center’s work in eradicating the guinea worm
in Africa and Asia. To quote from the website:
When The Carter Center began leading the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease in 1986, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in at least 21 countries in
Africa and Asia. Today, that number has been reduced by more than 99.99 percent. In 2020, 27* human cases of Guinea worm disease were reported worldwide. Between
January 1 and June 30 of 2021 five human cases have been reported.
https://www.cartercenter.org
One of the major strategies used to reach this goal was teaching individuals to filter drinking
water and to not go into water if infected. This was difficult for several reasons: (a) lack of
health care practitioners in the largely rural area, (b) the insecurity in some areas related to
conflict, and (c) cost of filtration equipment. The coordination of effort across several
organizations led to the success.
The group of factors included in the SDOH are: (a) economic stability, (b) education access and
quality, (c) social and community context, (d) health care access and quality, (e) neighborhood
and built environment. Review the resources listed in the Instructional Materials for this module
to learn more about the SDOH.
The focus of this assignment is twofold: (a) to strengthen your understanding of the impact of at
least one of the social determinants of health on a priority health issue in the country you have
chosen as the focus for the final paper and (b) to share that understanding with another health
care professional. You will write a 300-to-350 word paper plus an email (200-250 words) that
meet the following criteria:
SDOH Impact paper, continued
1. The paper will contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. An appropriately
formatted student paper title page must be included. See the relevant section of the APA
Publication Manual, 7th ed.
2. Provide a short description of the country.
3. Identify the (2 or 3) health issues with the highest priority in the chosen country.
Document these choices. Choose one as the focus for the rest of this document. Describe
the global health indicators you are using to identify the priority health issue.
4. Identify the SDOH that has the most impact on the chosen health issue. Be sure to fully
describe the SDOH and make the connection between it and the health issue very clear.
5. Include a minimum of three (3) references. One (1) reference must be a scholarly article.
References must be no more than five (5) years old. There are no exceptions to this
requirement. The Skolnik article may be used but does not count as one of the three
references. For this one paper the list of references does not need to be on a separate
page.
6. The email will begin two double spaces below the last reference. Start the reference with
the date. Format the rest of the email as described in the Instructional Materials section
of this module.
7. Direct the email to any healthcare provider who is NOT a nurse. Make sure that the
discipline of the healthcare provider is clear in the email. You do not know whether this
healthcare provider is or is not aware of the SDOH literature; consequently, SDOH
information must be provided without offending the healthcare professional.
• Provide a brief description of the concept of SDOH.
• Explain the link between the SDOH and the identified healthcare priority. It is
possible that more than one of the SDOH categories will be applicable.
• Support your choices with scholarly references. You must use a minimum of
three (3) references. These references may be the same as those used in the paper
part of this assignment if they are clearly appropriate. Again, the Skolnik article
may be used but does not count as one of the two required references.
• The length of the email is to be between 200 and 250 words.
CLICK on the link titled “M4-A1 SDOH Impact ANALYSIS/EMAIL Submission Area” to
submit the assignment.
Point Value: 25
Due Date: See Course Calendar/Checklist
See Rubric #5 for evaluation/grading guidelines
August 2021