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A Quantitative Study Exploring the Social Determinants of Health in the North West Region of Cameroon

Received: 15 January 2020     Accepted: 27 January 2020     Published: 12 February 2020
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Abstract

Health and wellbeing are shaped by social and economic factors. These factors are known as Social Determinants of Health and are defined as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. A number of factors shape wellbeing including distribution of money, power, and resources both at global, national and local level. The purpose of this study was to explore the social determinants of health and health disparities amongst patients who seek health services in health facilities of the North West Region of Cameroon. The study was a cross sectional survey that used a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 430 participants. The main findings of the study show that the vicious cycle of interactions between low educational levels, low income levels and poverty reinforces a pattern of social disadvantages, health inequalities and ill health in the targeted communities. There were some factors identified that put poor communities at a health disadvantage; these included unemployment (43.5%) low income levels (43.8%) and low educational levels (40%). These factors contribute to the social and economic inequalities amongst communities. In conclusion, the study showered that social determinants of health are important factors for understanding health care outcomes. There is the need to further use a larger dataset to explore the effectiveness and progress towards health equity related to social determinants of health in Cameroon.

Published in Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care (Volume 6, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jfmhc.20200601.12
Page(s) 8-14
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Social Determinants of Health, Health Facilities, Cameroon

References
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  • APA Style

    Joel Ngwa Ambebila, Ebenezer Obi Daniel, Paul Olaiya Abiodun, Israel Olukayode Popoola, Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. (2020). A Quantitative Study Exploring the Social Determinants of Health in the North West Region of Cameroon. Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care, 6(1), 8-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfmhc.20200601.12

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    ACS Style

    Joel Ngwa Ambebila; Ebenezer Obi Daniel; Paul Olaiya Abiodun; Israel Olukayode Popoola; Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. A Quantitative Study Exploring the Social Determinants of Health in the North West Region of Cameroon. J. Fam. Med. Health Care 2020, 6(1), 8-14. doi: 10.11648/j.jfmhc.20200601.12

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    AMA Style

    Joel Ngwa Ambebila, Ebenezer Obi Daniel, Paul Olaiya Abiodun, Israel Olukayode Popoola, Stellamaris Moronkeji, et al. A Quantitative Study Exploring the Social Determinants of Health in the North West Region of Cameroon. J Fam Med Health Care. 2020;6(1):8-14. doi: 10.11648/j.jfmhc.20200601.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jfmhc.20200601.12,
      author = {Joel Ngwa Ambebila and Ebenezer Obi Daniel and Paul Olaiya Abiodun and Israel Olukayode Popoola and Stellamaris Moronkeji and Olayinka Victor Ojo and Ahmed Mamuda Bello and Christie Omolola Adams},
      title = {A Quantitative Study Exploring the Social Determinants of Health in the North West Region of Cameroon},
      journal = {Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {8-14},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jfmhc.20200601.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfmhc.20200601.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfmhc.20200601.12},
      abstract = {Health and wellbeing are shaped by social and economic factors. These factors are known as Social Determinants of Health and are defined as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. A number of factors shape wellbeing including distribution of money, power, and resources both at global, national and local level. The purpose of this study was to explore the social determinants of health and health disparities amongst patients who seek health services in health facilities of the North West Region of Cameroon. The study was a cross sectional survey that used a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 430 participants. The main findings of the study show that the vicious cycle of interactions between low educational levels, low income levels and poverty reinforces a pattern of social disadvantages, health inequalities and ill health in the targeted communities. There were some factors identified that put poor communities at a health disadvantage; these included unemployment (43.5%) low income levels (43.8%) and low educational levels (40%). These factors contribute to the social and economic inequalities amongst communities. In conclusion, the study showered that social determinants of health are important factors for understanding health care outcomes. There is the need to further use a larger dataset to explore the effectiveness and progress towards health equity related to social determinants of health in Cameroon.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    T1  - A Quantitative Study Exploring the Social Determinants of Health in the North West Region of Cameroon
    AU  - Joel Ngwa Ambebila
    AU  - Ebenezer Obi Daniel
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    JF  - Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care
    JO  - Journal of Family Medicine and Health Care
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Author Information
  • Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana

  • Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana

  • Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana

  • Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

  • Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana

  • Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana

  • Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana

  • Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Texila American University, Georgetown, Guyana

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