Hi, I have an individual written assessment that i need to complete about a hypothetical public health emergency in a specific region of a country that follows APA 7 referencing and guidelines. I have provided instructions of the essay below and attached the marking rubric and an explanation of diderichsen’s model at the very bottom with a corresponding diagram of diderichsen’s model. This essay needs to meet the “excellent” range for each criteria of the essay and needs to be at an A to A+ grade standard.
Purpose
This assessment will measure your ability to write a 1,500-word essay on the impact of a hypothetical public health emergency in a specific region of a country. In particular, it requires you to explore the potential effect of this emergency on a vulnerable population group, using an intersectional lens. Furthermore, by applying Diderichsen’s model you will explain why this emergency would increase health inequities within this population.
Overview
Based on a chosen emergency, you are to write an essay exploring its impact on a chosen subgroup. Note: you need to describe the impact of a hypothetical event, so not one that has already taken place! The essay should include an introduction and conclusion, paragraphs with clear topic sentences and be appropriately referenced.
Instructions
1. Choose one of the following emergencies:
a. Volcanic eruption in a high-income country
b. Drought in low-income country
2. Select your country of choice*: a specific high-income country if you chose volcanic eruption and a specific low-income country if you chose drought. Next, select a location within this country, i.e., urban, regional/rural, or remote.
3. Provide an overview of the impact the hypothetical emergency would have on the location of your choice.
4. Justify why this emergency would be considered a public health issue.
5. Select one vulnerable subgroup of the country’s population that lives in your chosen geographic area to further explore the impact this emergency would have on them. Using an intersectional lens, discuss at least two overlapping social identities that would contribute to this subgroup’s experiences of the emergency.
6. Apply Diderichsen’s model to explain how this vulnerable subgroup would face greater health inequities compared to other populations as a result of the hypothetical emergency. In doing this, make sure you describe the following four mechanisms:
Social stratification
Differential exposures
Differential vulnerabilities
Differential consequences
*Note: Even though you are writing about a hypothetical volcanic eruption or drought event, it is important to choose a country that is particularly susceptible to such a natural disaster
Assessment criteria
You will be assessed on the following criteria:
Appropriate title and introduction of the essay (5%)
Overview of the hypothetical emergency in the chosen country and region, and justification of its public health significance (30%)
Identification of one subgroup of the population within the chosen region, and discussion of at least two social identities that would contribute to their experiences of the emergency (25%)
Application of Diderichsen’s model to identify how the emergency would disproportionately affect your chosen subgroup (consider relevant determinants that would have an impact on the subgroup’s health outcomes) (25%)
Conclusion of the essay (5%)
Quality of academic writing: organisation (use of paragraphs with clear topic sentences), written clarity, correct use of evidence with references in APA7 style (10%)
The Diderichsen model:
The Diderichsen model provides us with a framework through which we can empirically test four specific mechanisms that play a role in generating health inequalities in different social contexts. This is important for public health practice, because if we are able to identify which mechanisms are operating on the main health determinants, then we can identify the most appropriate strategies for tackling resulting inequalities.
As depicted in the figure below, the four main mechanisms are:
I. Social stratification: refers to a society’s categorisation of its people into social positions (classes) based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education
o Societies create a range of social positions, which individuals try to attain through, for example, education, occupation, income and gender practices. Social positions within society provide individuals will a social status which can allow people to feel valued, appreciated and needed or on the other hand looked down on, treated as insignificant, disrespected, stigmatised and humiliated (Wilkinson, 2005). Research consistently shows us that social position in society, particularly education, occupation or economic resources, exerts a powerful influence on the type, magnitude and distribution of health risks experienced within different socioeconomic groups (Dahlgren & Whitehead, 2006). Groups that are better off typically have more power and opportunities to live a healthy life than groups that are less privileged.
II. Differential exposure: refers to the concept that each social position experiences different patterns of disease exposure in terms of type, amount, and duration, with higher risks of poor health associated with lower social positions across a wide range of specific diseases.
o Perhaps the most obvious reason why the risks for most major diseases differ based on social position (education, income, occupation) is differences in exposure to the factors that cause or prevent these diseases. Exposure to almost all risk factors (material, psychosocial and behavioural) is inversely related to social position. This means that the lower the social position, the greater the exposure to different health hazards – think social gradient in health. Conversely, people with the greatest access to resources have the best opportunities to avoid risks, diseases and the negative consequences of poor health (Dahlgren & Whitehead, 2006; Link & Phelan, 1995).
III. Differential vulnerability: this refers to the health impact of a specific exposure that differs across social positions. Because individuals in lower social positions are often exposed to many additional, interacting risk factors, their vulnerability to the effect of one specific cause might be higher than in more advantaged social groups
o Another important pathway to inequities in health and wellbeing involves a life-course perspective, considering the cumulative outcome of all the pathways above as they interact and operate over a lifetime. For example, early life events often generate poor health later on and material circumstances in early life are stronger predictors of health status later in life than social position during adulthood (Dahlgren & Whitehead, 2006). These life-course effects may be passed from parents to their children, as they are closely related to social background. For example, the social position of parents commonly influences the educational achievements of their children, which in turn influence working conditions and salary levels when the children grow up.
IV. Differential consequences: refers to the impact of a certain health event on the individual and their family’s socioeconomic circumstances. The underlying social context and social stratification may lead to an inequitable distribution of the social
consequences of ill health
o The final pathway or mechanism through which wider determinants of health lead to health inequities is there are different social and economic consequences of being sick. For example, being ill can have numerous adverse consequences ranging from as a loss of earnings to a loss of a job altogether or social isolation or exclusion, brought about by unemployment or restrictions on ‘normal’ activities because of the illness. At the same time, being sick can lead to additional financial burdens resulting from high out-of-pocket payments for health care to the cost of drugs or therapy needed. These negative consequences of being ill can compound an individual’s health outcomes and further contribute to poor health and wellbeing.