Determinants of Health Using Blum's Model - Free Paper Example

Blum’s model of health determinants describes that four essential factors contribute to the overall health of an individual; environment, heredity, lifestyle, and medical services. Blum’s model is crucial when determining the health of an individual since the four factors influence health to a diverse level of degree. Blum’s model has positive implication that enables health professionals to understand well the health of an individual hence assisting in moving towards a more holistic understanding of health (Batarseh, 2018). Environmental factor in the four key determinants of health in Blum’s model is the main contributor to an individual’s health status followed by lifestyle, genetics, and medical services. Access to health care services also has positive implications for health, since when a person is sick or experiences a mental disorder, the availability of medical services enables the person to get appropriate medication on time hence saving a life.

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Blum’s model of health determinants gives a basic outline of some basic factors that influence the health of an individual; hence health professionals can use the factors to treat the upcoming problem before it causes adverse effects (Omachonu & Einspruch, 2010). For instance, the Environmental factor of Blum’s model, which entails those things surrounding us, has some influence on our health either a positive or negative. Individual health is affected even before we are born by many things our mothers consume or drink, such as alcohol, drugs, or medicine. However, when we are born, our physical health depends on our air, water, housing, and food.

Genetics and lifestyle influence individual health; in Blum’s model, the disease can be transmitted through genes from parents to children. Based on recent research, there is little action that can be done to prevent inherited genes that might influence individual health negatively, such as inheriting cancer (Brill, 2015). The lifestyle choices of an individual determine whether a genetic reaction is activated or deactivated. Therefore, a well understanding of the four key determinants of health in Blum’s model assists in the advancement and development of healthcare delivery; hence it will significantly contribute to improving an individual’s well-being.

References

Batarseh, D. (2018). Sports Injury and Recovery Analyzed Using Blum’s Model of Health Determinants.Brill, S. (2015). America’s bitter pill: money, politics, backroom deals, and the fight to fix our broken healthcare system. Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Ellner, A. L., Stout, S., Sullivan, E. E., Griffiths, E. P., Mountjoy, A., & Phillips, R. S. (2015). Health systems innovation at academic health centers: leading in a new era of health care delivery. Academic Medicine, 90(7), 872-880. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000000679

Omachonu, V. K., & Einspruch, N. G. (2010). Innovation in healthcare delivery systems: a conceptual framework. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 15(1), 1-20.