Takebacks from April 9

One thing I really took from today's materials were the social determinants of health and what this means in relation to Occupational Therapy. 

Social Determinants of health are the things that determine our overall health. These are conditions in which people are born or are taught. They could be places in which people live, work, or worship. This also includes individual factors such as your age, sex, and lifestyle choices.  

OT's follow a model called the Healthy People 2020. The goal for Healthy People 2020 is for all of society to live long, healthy lives. OT's have a common mission to help their client's attain a higher quality of life, by fighting against disability, injury, and premature death. In order for everyone to acquire this, we as a nation must create environments that promote good health for everyone. In order for everyone to attain this high quality life, we must come together to make advances to the factors that give some a disadvantage. It is crucial that things such as food, education, housing, transportation, etc are made available for everyone. Without resources to meet their daily needs, it is hard to attain a society that has long and healthy lives. For example, there are many individuals that lack a way of transportation to/from therapy. By identifying the need for improvement in this area, and working together to maximize opportunities, change can be made!

Another thing I found interesting is the true meaning of health literacy. It wasn’t until I watched the videos presented by Prof. Flick that I truly understood the importance of health literacy. In short, health literacy is the capability that an individual has to understand general health information and services that are essential for making proper decisions regarding the betterment of his/her health. As a healthcare professional, it is important to communicate with clients on a level that is easy for them to understand. It is very common for patients to leave a health care facility without knowing what they have been told. In order to prevent this, health care professionals need to avoid professional lingo and make things sensible for his/her client. How can an individual truly improve his/her health if he lacks understanding of what is expected of him/her?