There are many factors that affect the health of individuals. The World Health Organization, WHO, has described social determinants of health as a concept to be understood when looking at health problems within populations. Some broad categories that are social determinants of health are: the social gradient, stress, social exclusion, work (or lack of work) and working conditions, social support, addiction, access to good food and transportation (WHO, 2003).
In 1980 China implemented a policy of only allowing one child to be born per family. By limiting the number of births, China was able to raise over 150 million people out of poverty and build a strong economy. However, there is a downside to this policy and China is currently suffering the consequences. A lingering result of the one child policy in China is that there is an aging population that needs to be cared for. Currently, the aging population is greater than that of the younger, working population (Wang et al. 2016). The burden of caring for the aging falls to the Chinese society but specifically to individuals in the aging population’s family. Due to the one child policy, the burden of caring for two parents and possibly a grandparent or two falls to one person. Where if more children had been born, the burden would fall to several of the children in the family. The stress on the single child in the family to be able to make enough money to support multiple generations is tremendous. It should also be noted that, currently, there are no broad-reaching long-term care facilities available to care for an aging population in China. Additionally, there is a vast difference in the ratio of men to women. As of 2016 there were an estimated 33.6 million more men than women in China (Britannica, 2019). This imbalance is due to the preference of male children to female children. The lack of females is putting a strain on men finding women to marry and to have children to continue the familial line to the next generation. Thus, adding an additional layer of stress. Females are dealing with the fallout as well. There were forced abortions and sterilizations (Wang et al. 2016) during the policy and even though the policy has ended, they remain unable to conceive.
As described, there is a great deal of stress on the younger, working population in China. Stress is one of the social determinants of health. Long term, chronic stress is a major contributor to health issues. According to the CDC, 88% of deaths in China occur due to non-communicable diseases (CDC, 2019). The leading cause of death in China is cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases fall under non-communicable diseases, NCD. Stress is a known contributor to cardiovascular diseases (CDC, 2019). The fourth leading cause of death in China is Diabetes. Long-term, chronic stress can also lead to diabetes (CDC, 2019).
Activity PDF 6.3 WHO (2003) – “Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Facts.” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ubK2nSOuNnZS9X5vvt7C7rwqQq370tnh/view
“CDC Global Health – China.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed August 10, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/china/default.htm
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “The Effects of China’s One-Child Policy.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed July 26, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/story/the-effects-of-chinas-one-child-policy.
Wang, Feng, Baochang Gu, and Yong Cai. “The End of China’s One-child Policy.” Brookings. July 28, 2016. Accessed July 26, 2019. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-end-of-chinas-one-child-policy/
Hello Jennifer! I found your blog post to be very interesting. I knew China had the one child rule; however, I did not realize how that had an effect on the rest of the population. I also had no idea how big of a ratio difference there was for men to women, that is crazy! As someone that has two other siblings, I couldn’t imagine not having them to grow up with, they have been my lifelong friends and support system that I don’t know who I would turn to if I didn’t have them. That would be a lot of pressure having to worry about my parents by myself. I also think that it is crazy to think about how many long-term care facilities there are here in America. I used to work in an assisted living place for older folks and you would not imagine how many facilities there actually are. You can’t go 20 miles without there being one. Just from reading your post I feel like I would be stressed living in China. Stress is not something to take lightly and I definitely think China needs to implement some big changes to help decrease these major statistics!