Poverty as a Social Determinant of Health in Canada

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How Poverty Affects Health
Introduction
In Canada, among the social determinants (SDH) of health include disparities in income distribution, joblessness and job security, housing, early childhood development, poverty among several others. WHO defines SDH as the conditions surrounding an individual, especially the way they are born, raised and live, including the external forces and systems that have impacts on their everyday life. Examples of these external forces include social policies and norms, economic policies and political systems, among others (WHO, 2018). In Canada, the political forces drive the social determinants of health. Kickbusch (2015) argue that health is a political choice, especially when leaders compete for power instead of addressing the issues that affect the population. In support of his arguments, he points out that health services are unevenly distributed, health is one of the key dimensions of citizenship, and human rights and most of the health determinants are dependent on the political actions (Kickbusch, 2015). Public policies are responsible for creating the health inequalities by inequitably distributing the social determinants of health among Canadians. In addressing the current issue, the government and the respective organizations should work together in developing policies that improve the social determinants of health in Canada. Among the social determinants of health in Canada, poverty is the single largest health determinant.
Poverty as a Social Determinant of Health
Poverty is an issue because Canada does not have an official ration of poverty. The manner in which poverty is measured defines poverty and has implications on the development of policies to reduce poverty and its impacts on fitness (Shimmin, 2018). Canada does not define poverty, neither does it approximate the number of low-income families living in poverty. Instead, it broadcasts statistics on the number of people living in low income using a different measurement. Due to canceling of mandatory long form census, it is difficult to compare income trends. Therefore, the voluntary survey is more probable to under-represent Canadians living in low income (Shimmin, 2018).
For many years, Canada has been viewed as a global leader in providing health care to the marginalized people. However, the country has been recently ranked behind other top countries in health and poverty. Poverty has been declared by the World Health Organization to be a major health determinant. Poverty has been associated with reduced life expectancy among the population. For instance, a recent study concludes that 20% of wealthy men can live four years more than 20% of poor men in the neighborhoods of Canada (Canada Without Poverty, 2018).
According to the statistics presented by Canada without Poverty (2018), One in every seven people or approximately 4.9 million people, which is 13.9% of the Canadian population live below the set poverty levels. The top 3 states that record high levels of poverty are Toronto, Vancouver, and Windsor, with 17%, 16.9%, and 16.2%, respectfully (Canada without Poverty, 2018). Accurate data on the poverty levels form a crucial part of addressing the problem and its impact on the health in the country. Analyzing food insecurity, health and housing in Canada show the extent of the effects presented by poverty as a health determinant.
Food Insecurity
Among the low-income population, one in every three people faces food insecurity. In most cases, this section of the population spends approximately one-third of their income on food. Thus, it is nearly impossible for them to focus on a healthy diet, which leads to unhealthy eating that is associated with obesity, heart diseases, and diabetes, among other related issues. The health costs of unhealthy feeding and other effects of food insecurity are approximately $1.3 billion every year, with an estimated $6 billion annual economic burden (BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, 2014).
Housing
Homelessness worsens this risk of life to a large degree. The approximated life expectancy in Canada is 77 to 82 years, which is high compared to the life expectancy of homeless paper, which ranges between 34 to 47 (Clavier & De Leeuw, 2013). Recent studies have revealed that children from impoverished families are greatly affected by feelings of helplessness, long-lasting psychological stresses and are more deficits in short-term memory compared to the children of average income backgrounds. Early intervention has been considered as the most efficient way of addressing these problems as well as increasing the income of a family to reduce exposure of children to poverty.
Health
Poverty effects associated with housing and food insecurity all have profound effects on the health of the nation. According to WHO, economic and social conditions, also their impacts on the society, have effects on the people's levels of risk of sicknesses and the actions they take to prevent themselves from illnesses or to treat diseases when they become sick. Poverty affects the health in myriad ways because income provides basics for health that include food, housing, safety, education, and the ability to participate in the society meaningfully (Scriven, 2014). Low income limits the opportunities for an individual to achieve full health potential because the choices are limited. Therefore, there is a need to understand the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of poverty in order to understand the economic and social omissions, which summarize the role played by the social-support networks. These networks...