Topic: Determinants of Health

When it comes to chronic illness, there is no standard or “normal” experience. Each person’s illness experience is individual and is influenced by a variety of factors. Factors that can influence the chronic illness experience include underlying health, family status, environment, employment, economics, past experiences, age, gender, culture, and more.

The causes of chronic illness are also many and varied. For example, genetics are a contributor to chronic illness that one cannot change. Nurses can, however, address the social and environmental determinants that contribute to chronic illness.

Review the “Healthy People.gov” websites provided:

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.(2018). Social Determinants of Health. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.(2018). Environmental Quality Across the Life Stages. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-lhi-topics/Environmental-Quality/determinants

Identify one social and one environmental determinant of chronic illness and the health
promotion/prevention strategies that nurses could implement to decrease the risk of chronic illness.