Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environment where people are born, live, learn, work, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, function, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. SDOH contribute to health disparities and inequities. Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. For example, people who do not have access to grocery stores with healthy foods are less likely to have good nutrition. People with poor nutrition are at greater risk for health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. In turn, those conditions lead to lower life expectancy.
Healthy People 2030 addresses these health disparities and includes over 350 science-based objective to close disparity gaps. To learn more about these objectives visit their website at https://health.gov/healthypeople. Community members, healthcare providers, healthcare organizations, and local government need to work together to achieve health equity in our community. One area of focus is improving health behaviors. Low physical activity has a variety of health issues including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer. In addition, adequate levels of activity improve quality of life including improved sleep, increased ability to perform everyday activities, improved cognitive abilities and reduced risk of dementia, and improved bone and musculoskeletal health.
FAMC partners with SDSU Extension and Better Choices Better Health to provide access to exercise and educational classes to improve health. Exercise classes consist of Fit and Strong and Walk with Ease. Education classes focus on management of chronic diseases including cancer, chronic pain, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions. For more information or to sign up for a class, check out their website at https://extension.sdstate.edu/better-choices-better-healthr or talk to your healthcare provider.