Who gets to be healthy? The ‘social determinants of health’ can reduce inequities, but many policies neglect them

<https://theconversation.com/who-gets-to-be-healthy-the-social-determinants-of-health-can-reduce-inequities-but-many-policies-neglect-them-210961>

"The “social determinants of health” is a fancy way of describing a simple
idea: that a person’s health is influenced not just by what they eat or do but
also by social factors.

These include:

* access to education (including in early childhood)
* your parents’ income
* being able to afford fresh fruit and vegetables
* access to decent housing and healthcare
* whether a child or their family face discrimination.

There’s growing awareness among researchers and policymakers that addressing
the social determinants of health is crucial to tackling inequities in
Australia.

And it’s during childhood these factors start greatly influencing a person’s
life trajectory.

However, this growing awareness of how social factors affect children’s health
is not always reflected in policy.

Our study, published in BMC Public Health, involved analysis of the
strategies at the heart of 26 Australian health and education wellbeing
policies. We found just 10% addressed the social determinants of health.

This is troubling. Failing to tackle the social determinants of health means
reproducing disadvantage again and again."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics