Author: Dr. Monique Collier-Nickles
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social determinants of health (SDOH) as “the conditions and environments in which people are born, grow, work, worship, play, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.” Despite being non-medical, all of these factors can play a part in a person’s health outcomes.
Understanding these social determinants of health can provide unique insight into understanding health disparities, inequities, and the negative outcomes children may be experiencing.
An example: A child whose parent has low income has less access to nutritious foods. Both of these SDOH can lead to negative outcomes. Think- the inability to purchase nutritious food leads the parent to purchase less expensive, more affordable options- aka- fast food! A consistent diet of these less healthy options can lead to childhood obesity, then to cardiovascular disease in adulthood and ultimately, a lower life expectancy. In addition, the stress of low income on a parent can lead to child maltreatment, leading to mental health problems. We see that the combination of just these two social determinants of health can lead to both physical and mental health concerns for children into adulthood.
Wondering how we can help?
Community and civic organizations, schools and health systems can make a difference. We can be the voice for our children, who cannot speak for themselves! We can advocate improving all settings and organizations where our children live and play: our child care centers, schools, school-based health centers, family support and resource centers, youth programs, recreation venues, and transportation systems. We can utilize standard questionnaires to help recognize children’s health-related social needs. We can evaluate these physical environments, looking for opportunities to prevent illness and injury. We can connect and help facilitate child/family access to relevant government, local support services and community resources. We can report illnesses, hazards, and trends to public health departments. All of our efforts are essential to help create social, physical, and economic environments that promote attaining the full potential for health and well-being for all, reducing the longstanding inequities in health and well-being for our underprivileged and underserved populations.
Think for a moment about the effects on children faced with a lack of safe housing and safe transportation, a lack of access to nutritious foods and opportunities for physical activity. These SDOH paired with the persistence of racism, discrimination, and violence, just to name a few, can be easily linked to negative health outcomes.
To learn more:
Read SDOH literature summaries:
https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries
