Psychosocial Factors of Physical Health

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Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Health and Disease

Psychosocial factors directly influence physical health outcomes. Stressors repeatedly experienced over a long period, such as stressful working and living conditions, are linked with diabetes, high blood pressure, and ischemic heart disease (Marmot et al., 2018). The psychosocial pathways impact health behaviors like smoking, drinking, physical activity, and diet. Studies suggest that psychosocial pathways result in critical health inequalities. Ensuring that the psychosocial pathways get addressed as an action traversing the social determinants pathways is a key consideration (World Health Organization, 2011). There is a need for a long-term and preventive method to address broader social determinants of health.

Standard of living

Standard of living has indirect and direct effects on health. It is associated with material, psychosocial, biological, and behavioral pathways that link social conditions to health outcomes. Material deprivation leads to poor living levels that eventually directly influence physical health (Geddes et al., 2011). Cold living environments and houses increase the severity and frequency of asthmatic symptoms in children (Geddes et al., 2011). Additionally, cold housing increases the possible risks of multiple mental health complications in adolescents.

Poverty

Poverty contributes to health inequalities in the community. An increase in poverty levels is associated with stress and negative emotional states, which affects the mind. On the other hand, poverty eradication increases psychosocial wellness and reduces stress (Geddes et al., 2011). Currently, efforts being employed to address these factors revolve around health promotion and disease prevention efforts (Geddes et al., 2011). There are three main strategies used to address these factors they include addressing the broad determinants of health, addressing the effects of adverse factors, and promoting protective factors in the entire population.

Widely Addressing Health Determinants

The approach strategically targets the causal pathway involving work and living conditions experienced by the marginalized groups, thus helping to reduce stressors encountered by the population to improve health, prevent illnesses, and reduce health inequalities (Marmot et al., 2018). There are also health-in-all policies whereby the locals work with stakeholders to enable them to adopt psychosocial factors, determinants, and pathways to health and equity.

Schools and locals can engage in programs and policies that address psychosocial pathways. Through these strategies, they can address bullying, isolation, and stress while promoting protective factors such as resilience, social networks, social skills, a sense of belonging, cohesion, and emotional wellbeing (Marmot et al., 2018). The workplace can be improved through the initiative, while the community can work with stakeholders to improve the social, natural, and built environment.

Addressing Effects of Adverse Factors and Promoting Protective Factors in the Entire Population

In this regard, there are many approaches, including interventions in the early life course, to improve the early experience that reduce causal pathways and create a health-enhanced family and school environment. Additionally, these interventions build resilient relationships in the family that provide psychologically enabled services (Marmot et al., 2018). Prevention services are public health approaches aimed at preventing illnesses such as diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases (CDV), and cancer while emphasizing risk and protective factors.

Role of Nurse

Nurses play consultative roles in health promotions in patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer caused by psychosocial factors. Nurses have a key role in providing care through proper guidance of patients in the treatment process (Yousefi et al., 2019). According to research, patients with chronic conditions encounter numerous challenges in the course of treatment. The nurses play an instrumental role in aiding patients to overcome confusion, disease complications, drug side effects, and other comorbidities (Yousefi et al., 2019). Having a better understanding of the challenges enables nurses to advocate for better public policies for addressing psychosocial factors through appropriate channels.

References

Geddes, I., Bloomer, E., Allen, J., & Goldblatt, P. (2011). The health impacts of cold homes and fuel poverty.BMJ, 342(2), 1-40. Web.

Marmot, M., Allen, J., Goldblatt, P., Boyce, T., McNeish, D., Grady, M., & Geddes, I. (2010). Fair Society, Healthy Lives (The Marmot Review). Institute of Health Equity.

World Health Organization. (2011). Social determinants of health. Who.int. Web.

Yousefi, H., Ziaee, E. S., & Golshiri, P. (2019). Nurses’ consultative role to health promotion in patients with chronic diseases. Journal of education and health promotion, 8, 178. Web.

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