Global Health: Social Determinants of Health

A very common misconceptions about good versus poor health is that individual behaviors are the main factor. Explaining the social determinants of health and their root causes to people who have not had exposure to such subjects before can be a bit difficult. Outlined below is a brief overview of these issues, which could be used to introduce someone you know to the social determinants of health.

Determinants of Health vs. Social Determinants of Health

Determinants of health of a population:

Genes and biology: for example, sex and age
Health behaviors: for example, alcohol use, injection drug use (needles), unprotected sex, and smoking

Social environment or social characteristics: for example, discrimination, income, and gender
Physical environment or total ecology: for example, where a person lives and crowding conditions
Health services or medical care: for example, access to quality health care and having or not having insurance

Social determinants of health:

How a person develops during the first few years of life (early childhood development)
How much education a persons obtains
Being able to get and keep a job
What kind of work a person does
Having food or being able to get food (food security)
Having access to health services and the quality of those services
Housing status
How much money a person earns
Discrimination and social support (2)

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/FAQ.html#b

Roots of Inequalities:

“The poor health of poor people, the social gradient in health within countries, and the substantial health inequities between countries are caused by the unequal distribution of power, income, goods, and services, globally and nationally, the consequent unfairness in the immediate, visible circumstances of people's lives—their access to health care and education, their conditions of work and leisure, their homes, communities, towns, or cities—and their chances of leading a flourishing life. This unequal distribution of health-damaging experiences is not in any sense a natural phenomenon but is the result of a combination of poor social policies and programmes, unfair economic arrangements, and bad politics. Together, the structural determinants and conditions of daily life constitute the social determinants of health and cause much of the health inequity between and within countries.” (1)