Social determinants of health

Social determinants of health are the social and economic conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, shaping health and access to care.

Health inequity: A systematic, avoidable difference in health between social groups that is considered unfair. Unequal social conditions create patterned health differences rather than random variation.
World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health: A WHO commission that examined how social conditions create health inequities and proposed action to address them. Its framework helped establish a widely used account of social determinants.
Health in All Policies: A public-policy approach that considers health effects across government sectors and seeks shared benefits. Housing, transport, education, and labor policies can affect health beyond health services.
Social determinants of health versus health disparities: A distinction between conditions that shape health and the unequal health outcomes observed across groups. Determinants are potential causes; disparities describe differences in outcomes.
Health equity: The principle that everyone should have a fair opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Addressing social determinants is a central route toward fairer health opportunities.
Social gradient in health: The pattern in which health generally improves at each step up the social hierarchy. Health often tracks social advantage across the entire population, not only poverty.
Dahlgren and Whitehead model: A model depicting health influences as layers, from individual characteristics to social and economic conditions. Its layered diagram separates personal factors from wider conditions shaping health.
Accountable Health Communities Model: A US model testing whether identifying and addressing patients’ health-related social needs can reduce costs and improve outcomes. It connects clinical screening and referrals with community resources for social needs.
Social determinants of health versus social needs: A distinction between population-level conditions shaping health and an individual’s immediate unmet social requirements. Clinical social-needs interventions may address symptoms without changing upstream determinants.
Health impact assessment: A method for estimating the health effects of a policy, project, or plan before or during implementation. It makes likely health effects of nonmedical decisions visible to policymakers.

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