WHAT ARE SOCIAL DETERMINATES OF HEALTH?

 

What are social determinants of health?\



Social determinants of health are an individual’s personal circumstances that impact their health and well-being. For example, they include political, socioeconomic, and cultural factors.

Other examples of social determinants of health include how easily someone can access healthcare, education, a safe place to live, and nutritious food.

The World Health Organization (WHO)

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 defines social determinants of health as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.”

Social determinants of health are an extensive range of factors that exist throughout all aspects of society. However, they are separate from medical care or a person’s individual lifestyle choices.

A study cited by the National Academy of Medicine found that medical care itself only accounted for 10–20% of the contributors to people’s health outcomes.

By contrast, the many social determinants of health play a much bigger role in influencing a person’s health, making up 80–90% of the contributing factors.

This article explores social determinants of health, including their forms and the roles they play in shaping healthcare outcomes.

Overview

two adults and a child are laughing and playing in a living room

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Social determinants of health fall into five

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 broad groups:

  • Healthcare: This group encompasses a person’s access to healthcare and its quality. Factors include:

    • access to primary healthcare

    • health insurance coverage

    • health literacy

  • Economic stability: This refers to the link between a person’s finances and their health. Examples of factors are:

    • poverty

    • employment

    • food security

    • housing stability

  • Education: This category focuses on the connection between a person’s access to education and its quality, and their health. Examples include:

    • secondary education

    • higher education

    • language and literacy

    • childhood development

  • Social and community life: This group revolves around the ways a person lives, works, plays, and learns and how these relate to the person’s health. Factors include:

    • civic participation

    • discrimination

    • incarceration

    • conditions within a workplace

  • Neighborhood: This group considers a person’s housing and environment and the role they play in the person’s health. Factors include:

    • quality of housing

    • transportation

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