A Model for Utilizing Social Determinants of Health Approach by Faculty Members



Damari B¹ ; Oveisi S² ; Azizkhani N³
Source: Koomesh Published:2018

Abstract

Introduction: The Social Determinants of Health (SDH) are mostly responsible for health inequities, the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries. It contributes about 50% of community health status; however, the significant role of medical science universities toward it cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, lack of accountability of them about SDH conditions caused their duties has been increasingly criticized. For this reason, faculty members need to review their attitudes and practices so that they can play a suitable role in social change more than ever. The present study aimed to design and introduce the model for utilizing Social Determinant of Health approach by faculty members of Universities of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: Qualitative study is carried out in two stages: Educational Needs Assessment and producing Educational Content. A review of the literature, focused group discussion and the completion of a questionnaire were used to gather information on the educational needs of faculty members in utilizing SDH. The population studied was faculty members of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences of Iran and sampling was deliberate. Collected information is summarized in the form of a workshop package including a lesson plan, scriptwriter, educational notebook and guide's tutor. It has been conducted experimentally in Qazvin University of medical sciences with basic, clinical and public health science. Finally, the evaluation results were applied to the final package. Results: The three main duties of a faculty member are research, education and practice. The practical applications of SDH in these areas are: 1. doing a comprehensive look at the patient's problems, including all four dimensions of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being. Moreover, social roots of the disease should not be neglected. 2. Supporting advanced research ideas in basic, clinical, and public health 3.Teaching comprehensive (systemic) approaches to students, educating students about the roots of the diseases, offering a suitable solution to prevent non-communicable diseases, advocating for serious attention of policy makers about roots of diseases, and participating in leading positive social change. This package consists of three parts: the content of SDH, Iranian Health indicators, and the necessary interventions for improvement and applying these bases by the faculty members.A total of 36 minutes of educational film and 10,000 words pamphlet have been prepared in the form of training workshops for 180 minutes. The result of this training package showed that faculty members had a history of practical implementation of these concepts but their motivation increased by 75% compared to the pre-workshop. Conclusion: Considering the important role of faculty members to utilizing the SDH, this package should be integrated into faculty empowerment workshop. It is suggested that these workshops are supervised by a joint committee including Medical Education Center (EDC), Social Determinants of Health Research Center, and health policy unit. As a result, these packages will gradually be updated and native based on the creative ideas of participants. © 2018, Semnan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.