Important Determinants of Health

As local communities continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the population and resource availability becomes increasingly important. Accessibility and affordability of healthcare are crucial during these times, as the virus does not discriminate against whom it affects. While the pandemic has caused changes in everyone’s lives, individuals without health insurance, access to transportation, and access to mental health services are a part of the population that is being particularly negatively affected.

To focus on the specific challenges faced by a local community during this pandemic, this blog will focus on the Albany, New York area and its population (1).

Health Insurance

In the U.S., there are over 28 million uninsured individuals (2). It can be incredibly expensive to try and afford basic care without health insurance, and patients without health insurance are limited in the providers they can see and make appointments with. Uninsured people are therefore far less likely to get medical care, which means they are not receiving yearly checkups and don’t have access to preventative measures, such as cancer screenings or blood pressure tests. In many cases, medical care is only sought in emergencies.

While the uninsured rate in New York has decreased in recent years, there are few options for those that are uninsured in Albany. One of these options is Surya Immediate Medical Care– while not currently accepting any ill patients due to the pandemic, the center accepts patients without insurance and allows self-payments. A new visit costs $150, while an established visit costs $100. Charges for additional services like strep tests and x-rays are listed on their website. For dental health, Aspen Dental in Albany is a practice that provides free exams and x-rays on the first visit, without insurance.

Access to Transportation

Being able to make an appointment is one thing, but actually getting to the doctor’s office is another– access to transportation is something that can often prevent patients from receiving the healthcare they need. One of the COVID-19 testing sites in Albany is at SUNY Albany. However, to be tested, individuals need transportation to the testing site and must be in a vehicle when they are being tested. Some resources that provide transportation include UberHealth, Medanswering services for individuals with Medicaid, and CDTA transit for Albany county resident seniors over the age of 60.

More recently, some mobile testing sites have become available and are listed here, which can allow some individuals to have access to testing without needing transportation, depending on where they live.

Mental Health Services

Mental health is an equally large component and contributor to overall health and wellbeing as physical health. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals are experiencing loneliness, anxiety, and other mental health issues as daily lifestyles have changed due to quarantine and social interaction is limited. To try and support individuals at home, some hotlines have become available 24/7 or throughout the week to provide help. A COVID-19 support line is available at (518) 269-6634, from 8 am to 8 pm every day. Additional hotlines and mental health resources in Albany are listed here.

While the Albany area has begun to respond to changes in healthcare availability and accessibility due to the pandemic, there are still some areas that can be improved upon, such as increased access to basic care and preventative services for people who are uninsured. Additionally, access to health insurance, transportation, and mental health services are only a few of the determinants of health and wellbeing– what do you think your local community can improve upon when it comes to the health of its population?

185,500 thoughts on “Important Determinants of Health

  1. Really informative post that I found, it is the perfect post for getting ideas and tips for my knowledge. We provide academic writing services. Our experts are here to assist with, Dissertation Help
    in the UK. We have a professional dissertation helper. If you are facing problems with dissertation help assignments. So, you can contact us.

    Reply

  2. Awesome article, it was exceptionally helpful! I simply began in this and I’m becoming more acquainted with it better! Cheers, keep doing awesome! guter Makler

    Reply

  3. The club won itssomeone dearly? Are you looking for ways through which you can make sure your relationship stays safe forever? Do you know h first championship in 1910 and its second in 1920. The captain and coach of the first championship winning team was Virgilio Fossati, who was later killed in battle while serving in the Italian army during World War I.
    เว็บสล็อตออนไลน์

    Reply

  4. Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with extra information? It is extremely helpful for me. delete background video

    Reply

  5. dokumenty kolekcjonerskie

    Kupując dokumenty kolekcjonerskie musisz liczyć się z faktem że nie każdy dokument kolekcjonerski jest taki sam. Kupując na przykład dowód kolekcjonerski lub prawo jazdy kolekcjonerskie musisz brać pod uwagę każdy najmniejszy nawet detal który może wskazywać że dokument nie wygląda na autentyczny lub co gorsze na pierwszy rzut oka wygląda na to że coś jest z nim nie tak. Zamawiając dokument kolekcjonerski zwróć uwagę na kolorystykę, rozdzielczość i ostrość druku, laserowe grawerowanie oraz co najważnejsze hologram. Hologram jest pierwszą rzeczą która zwraca uwagę. Jeżeli hologram nie wygląda autentycznie to nawet nie masz po co zawracać sobie głowy takim dokumentem gdyż taki dokument jest bezużyteczny.

    Reply

  6. You have a good point here!I totally agree with what you have said!!Thanks for sharing your views…hope more people will read this article!!! guter Makler

    Reply

  7. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you postDisposable Vape

    Reply

  8. Awesome article, it was exceptionally helpful! I simply began in this and I’m becoming more acquainted with it better! Cheers, keep doing awesome! guter Makler

    Reply

  9. سیلانه سبز

    هدف اصلی هلدینگ سیلانه سبز و مدیر اجرایی آن، مازن حریری، معرفی یک سبک زندگی سالم به مصرف‌کنندگان و دسترسی آسان آنان به مرغوب‌ترین محصولات بهداشتی است

    Reply

  10. We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. I was exactly searching for. Thanks for such post and please keep it up. Great work.
    Elitevisa

    Reply

  11. I don’t think I have ever encountered a website that has helped me as much as this website has helped me. Go check them out! Slot Nexus

    Reply

  12. شرکت مازن حریری

    هدف اصلی هلدینگ سیلانه سبز و مدیر اجرایی آن، مازن حریری، معرفی یک سبک زندگی سالم به مصرف‌کنندگان و دسترسی آسان آنان به مرغوب‌ترین محصولات بهداشتی است

    Reply

  13. I am continually amazed by the amount of information available on this subject. What you presented was well researched and well worded in order to get your stand on this across to all your readers. bandar bola

    Reply

  14. I’d want to take this opportunity to thank you for the helpful advice I’ve received while reading your website.
    We are eagerly anticipating the start of my college research, and this site has been an essential part of my pre-study preparations.
    Please let me know if there is any way that what I have learnt here might be of use to anyone else.
    https://crackfiles.org/adobe-acrobat-reader-dc-crack-full/

    Reply

  15. I’ve been surfing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before. poker88

    Reply

  16. Your website’s concept and design greatly appeal to me.
    If so, what browser compatibility concerns have you encountered? According to several of my blog’s followers
    my website doesn’t work properly on Explorer but appears fine when viewed on Safari.
    Any ideas on how to remedy this problem?
    https://prolicensekey.co/final-cut-pro-x-crack/

    Reply

  17. I have looked couple of days and discovered some spellbinding formed work on it. In any case, it is the best of all.
    SEO

    Reply

  18. Indeed, this made them think what different exercises are useful for those of us who wind up out and about or have restricted gear choices. note 8 pro

    Reply

  19. “We’ve stopped attributing deaths to Covid since the country reopened in December,” said a doctor at a major public hospital in Shanghai. “It doesn’t make sense anymore because almost everyone is positive.”
    China’s reluctance to provide data on the true extent of the epidemic has drawn criticism from the World Health Organization and independent experts For More Info: Shio Kambing Togel

    Reply

  20. Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the web the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries that they just don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks Ice Cream Cakes Alabama

    Reply

  21. It is really a great and useful piece of info. I’m glad that you simply shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

    스포츠토토

    Reply

  22. Hey, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, very good blog! 카지노사이트

    Reply

  23. Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
    The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Firefox.
    I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I
    thought I’d post to let you know. The design look great though!
    Hope you get the issue resolved soon. Kudos
    카지노사이트킹

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *