The Northwest AHEC Practice Support Team supports social, physical, and economic environments which promote attaining the full potential of health and well-being for all. This blog segment highlights impactful publications which promote improved health outcomes through Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) each month.
Our featured report this month discusses Social Determinants of Health in Health Equity.

Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity, Samantha Artiga Follow @SArtiga2 on Twitter and Elizabeth Hinton Published: May 10, 2018. (2019, July 9).

The authors have shared insight in this Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) article on how the efforts to improve health in the U.S. have traditionally looked to the health care system as the key driver of health and health outcomes. They stated that there has been increased recognition that improving health and achieving health equity will require broader approaches that address social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health. This article provides an overview of these social determinants of health and discusses emerging initiatives to address them.

What are Social Determinants of Health?
Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.1 They include factors like socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care (Figure 1).