Health Care

Please use only the attached files to answer the following question:

Berkman et al.’s (2000) conceptual model linking social networks to health suggests that upstream factors such as social-structural conditions (at the macro-level) condition the extent, shape, and nature of social networks that in turn provide opportunities for different psychosocial mechanisms (micro-level factors), and which go on to affect health via three pathways. Provide and describe at least one example of one structural condition that might influence social networks, and how this in turn influences psychosocial mechanisms and pathways to affect either mental or physical health.

Impact of Social Networks on Physical and Mental Health

Name

Institution/Department

Course

Instructor

Due Date

Impact of Social Networks on Physical and Mental Health

Social relationships are essential avenues in the distribution and interchange of resources that are linked to individuals’ well-being. It is widely acknowledged that social relationships have an increased influence on mental and physical health. Ideally, social networks or relationships are impacted by a multiplicity of structural and social situations such as socioeconomic and cultural settings (Sherman, Skrzypek, Bell, Tatum, and Paskett, 2011). Therefore, upstream factors such as social inequities, risk exposure, and social advantage, play a fundamental role in health outcomes, and represent significant opportunities for reducing or improving health disparities. The upstream factors offer opportunities for downstream opportunities such as person to person contact, social influence and social support, which influence physical and psychological health outcomes. The downstream and upstream factors have indicated that social support and relationships have possible direct mechanisms that influence health behaviors and patterns.

Macro-level structures also considered as the societal level, such as national wealth, income distribution, and welfare strongly influence the societal outcomes (Sherman, Skrzypek, Bell, Tatum and Paskett, 2011). The micro-level structure contributes to the social class, which corresponds to social environments. Social class is considered as relations of control or ownership over productive resources. Social class as an example of social structure is a strong social determinant of health. Thus, social class has offered an explicit relational mechanism that shows how the economic inequalities are generated and how they influence health. Social class has significant consequences for the lives of people. The extent to which individuals have the power and legal right to control the productive assets determines the individual practices and strategies that influence the standard of living.

Social class has been linked to environmental hazards that led to an individual’s risk of contracting the disease. Ideally, a person’s social class has a greater impact on physical health, which entails their capability of receiving nutrition and medical care (Scambler, 2018). For instance, people with low socioeconomic status have poorer overall health, reduced insurance coverage, and reduced access to adequate health compared to individuals of higher social class.

References

Scambler, G. (2018). Social Class and Health Inequalities. Sociology as Applied to Health and Medicine, 141.

Sherman, A. M., Skrzypek, A., Bell, R., Tatum, C., & Paskett, E. D. (2011). The contribution of social support and social strain to depressive symptoms in African American, Native American, and European American women. Journal of social and personal relationships, 28(8), 1104-1129.