This study addressed the social determinants of health with a specific
focus on three factors in the social environment that either individually or
collectively have an influence on health status: gender, socioeconomic status
(SES), and people's social relationships. The purpose of the study was to
examine whether people's social relationships mediate the effects of SES on
self-rated health status and to assess whether these effects differ for women and
men.
The research questions were examined by formulating a theoretical model
and evaluating the hypothesized relationships through the use of structural
equation modelling. The analyses were conducted using LISREL on data from
1,239 non-First Nations Yukon residents who participated in the Territory's 1993
Health Promotion Survey.
The results of this study suggest that household income significantly
affected women's and men's health by influencing aspects of their social
relationships. A higher overall rating of the quality of one's social relationships
was associated with positive health ratings for both women and men while the
perception that support would be available if needed significantly affected only
women's self-ratings of their health. Received social support was negatively
associated with women's health, but not men's, suggesting that the context in
which support is received has an important influence on women's health.
Relationship strain, as measured by care provided to several sources, was not
significantly related to women's or men's health-ratings.
The analyses also identify important interrelationships among the
dimensions of social relationships studied as well as some gender differences
among these relationships. For both women and men, positive evaluations of
the importance of social relationships for their health and a greater number of
social ties significantly influenced ratings of the overall quality of their social
relationships. Having more social ties also positively influenced the perception of
availability of social support for both women and men. The quality of their social
relationships influenced the perceived availability of social support only for
women.
Given the focus of provincial and federal governments in seeking reform
of their health-care systems, attention to modifiable determinants of health
presents an opportunity to contribute to this reform process. The findings of this
study contribute to our understanding of the effects of SES on health by
providing support for gender interactions in a set of relationships where aspects
of people's social relationships mediate the effects of income on health status.
These findings provide support for gender-specific mechanisms by which income
level influences perceived health status by shaping people's social relationships,
the quality of those relationships and the support they offer. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/9893 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Jeffery, Bonnie Lynn |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 10796710 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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