Influence of social determinants of health in family-effectiveness

Abstract

Introduction: The Social Determinants of Health are defined by the living conditions of the population, how they are born, grow, live, work and age, and are considered as the main responsible for the health of populations. Objective: To evaluate the influence of social determinants of health on effectiveness of family functioning. Materials and Methods: A quantitative study was carried out with 200 participants between 2017 and 2018. To assess the correlation between proximal, intermediate and distal social determinants of health and the level of effectiveness of family functioning, home visits were made to 100 families who responded the Assessment of strategies in Family Effectiveness instrument and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed by simple frequency, Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ) (p <0.05), and subjected to descriptive analysis from the perspective of systemic organization. Results: The social determinants that showed a positive correlation coefficient with the level of effectiveness of family functioning were the years of study and the fixed family income. There was a negative correlation with the main source of income (number of occupations) or source of income and the presence of other members or relatives in the family. Discussion: Investments in education can improve the family's ability to organize, solve or prevent adverse events, increase income and provide more time for family relationships and the achievement of congruence, as evidenced by other authors. Conclusions: The proximal and intermediate social determinants of health influenced the level of effectiveness of family functioning.