Public Health in the United States of America: Should the Country Utilize Social Determinants of Health and Implement Health in All Policies, the Holistic Policy Approach to Human Health? — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Public Health in the United States of America: Should the Country Utilize Social Determinants of Health and Implement Health in All Policies, the Holistic Policy Approach to Human Health?

Name: Bradley Rutter
Major: Political Science
Hometown: Eau Claire, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Jeffrey Roberg
Other Sponsors: Dr. Jerald Mast
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

Human health is a constantly changing topic. Therefore, the policies and laws that affect it should continually adapt as well to have the best health outcomes for populations; however, this is not always the reality. The majority of healthcare reform bills introduced at the federal level neglect to include aspects of health other than health insurance coverage and accessibility. This thesis examines the American healthcare system and why the trend is focused on medical care instead of other aspects, such as the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). SDoH are factors that contribute to our health, such as diet, exercise, and tobacco/alcohol usage. Healthcare only contributes about 10% to one’s quality of overall health, while the other aforementioned determinants contribute about 40% to one’s health and wellness. Including the SDoH has proven effective in other developed nations in the form of a public health initiative, Health in All Policies (HiAP). Studies show that life expectancy is higher and less is spent per capita on healthcare expenditures in countries that have adopted HiAP. If the United States wishes to be proud of its high-quality healthcare, then the country should begin by adopting HiAP to increase health quality rather than increase healthcare expenditures.

Poster file