There are several factors that can increase an individual’s risk of developing conditions/diseases, access to treatments, and their health outcomes. Some of these factors are known as the social determinants of health.
- Social determinants of health (SDH) = The collective set of conditions that people are born, grow-up, live and work in. These include housing, education, financial security, and the built environment as well as health system. These conditions are shaped by powerful overarching set of forces and systems: economic systems/policies, societal norms, social policies, and political systems.
Social determinants of health can strongly influence health inequalities. Across the globe, health and illness follow a social pattern: the lower the socioeconomic status, the worse the health.
- Health inequalities = Differences in health status or in the distribution of health resources between different population groups, arising from the social conditions that people are in. Health inequalities are unfair and avoidable.
- Socioeconomic status = A construct that represents the social and economic background of an individual or group (e.g.: household)
Studies show that social determinants of health can be more important in influencing health than healthcare or lifestyle choices. Research suggests that social determinants of health account for 30-55% of health outcomes.
Please see below the Dahlgren and Whitehead (1991) model of health determinants. It shows the individual at the centre and the different layers of influences on their health that surround them. These layers interact with each other to influence an individual’s overall health and wellbeing.
Disclaimer: This page is not an all-inclusive or exhaustive list of all the social determinants of health, but rather key examples. Social determinants of health vary based on person, country, and more.
Age, sex, and constitutional factors
- These are the personal characteristics of someone and is shown at the core of this model.
- Examples = sex, age, ethnic group, and hereditary factors (what they inherit from their genetics)
Individual lifestyle factors
- This layer is personal behaviour and ways of living that can promote or damage health
- Examples = tobacco use (smoker, vapes, or not), alcohol use, and physical activity (how much someone exercises)
Social and community networks
- This layer is social and community influences, which provide mutual support for members of the community in unfavourable conditions. However, they can also fail to support an individual or have can have a negative effect
- Examples =
- Family
- Wider social circles like friends, religious community, etc.
Living and working conditions
- This layer includes structural factors like housing, working conditions, education, access to services, and the provision of essential facilities.
- An individual’s education, job, where they live, the access to basic facilities (grocery store, doctors, clean water, etc) can greatly impact their health for better or for worse.
General socio-economic, cultural, and environmental conditions
- This layer captures the broader political, cultural, and environmental conditions that all the other factors occur in.
- Examples = culture, taxation, air pollution, structural conflict, political policies, availability of work, gender norms
