Social Determinants Introduction
Addressing Social Determinants through
Community Development
Below you will find the definition of social determinants from the CDC. Most determinants are targets of community development; however the health care industry is not comfortable making efforts in this space. This is the point we want to address so health scores can improve. For community development professionals and activists, we ask for you to see healthcare organizations as a partner who has a great amount to gain or lose when it comes to these determinants.
What You Need to Know
1
Social Determinants have a high impact on people's health
2
Most determinants require community or neighborhood development approaches
3
Health systems cannot keep treating individuals and hope to achieve health goals
4
Hospital systems need to join community development efforts to take healthcare to the next level
5
Taking a leading role in the community's effort to address social determinants will help healthcare organizations financially as well as public perception
The CDC's Definition of Social Determinants of Health
Healthcare Access and Quality
The connection between people’s access to and understanding
of health services and their own health. This domain includes key issues such
as access to healthcare, health insurance coverage, and health literacy.
Education Access and Quality
The connection of education to health and wellbeing. This
domain includes key issues such as graduating from high school, enrollment in
higher education, educational attainment in general, language and literacy, and
early childhood education and development.
Social and Community Context
The connection between characteristics of the contexts within which people live, learn, work, and play and their health and wellbeing. This includes topics like cohesion within a community, civic participation, discrimination, conditions in the workplace, and incarceration.
Economic Stability
The connection between the financial resources people have –
income, cost of living, and socioeconomic status – and their health. This area
includes key issues such as poverty, employment, food security, and housing
stability.
Neighborhood and Built Environment
The
connection between where a person lives – housing, neighborhood, and
environment – and their health and wellbeing. This includes topics like quality
of housing, access to transportation, availability of healthy foods, air and
water quality, and neighborhood crime and violence.
The Challenge
How can healthcare address these needs with little to no training on these topics? The answer is to work with those who do.
How do the pieces fit together?
Below lists efforts with a description of how one connects with another. Click on the number by each topic to learn more.
The efforts have to be focused. You won't be able to try a blanket approach to your community. Think neighborhood level where you can see exactly what you are working with and measure your outcomes.
Providing new or renovated housing is an important element, but will do little if it is the sole effort. Sharing health education, encouraging access to available programs, and building relationships needs to be added to the effort.
Economic Development like Job training and business development are great services but will be more successful if promoted by a neighborhood group to the people they know.
Crime prevention plays an important role but needs public involvement from the residents while at the same time housing, economics, and education are improving.
Education improvement can have a great long term impact on a neighborhood but efforts need a safe neighborhood, affordable housing, and available jobs for graduates to be successful.
A neighborhood plan has a way of bringing out the public participation of the residents while binding all the efforts together. A plan starts with a study and leads to brainstorming solutions and commitments by resource organizations and the neighborhood.
Please review our free resources located on the menu at the top of the page or click the button below.
Free Resources
What about the Resources
Below lists organizations with a description of the roles they can play. Click on the number next to each resource to find out more.
Neighborhood organizations can play the important role of being the glue that holds everything together. Representing the neighbors while bridging the gap between them and the resources can make all the difference.
City departments can be more effective if you give them a specific area to focus on and good representatives from the neighborhood to work with. Community Development, Public Works, Police, and others can be more impactful at a neighborhood level than a city-wide effort.
Chamber of Commerce can help the businesses by understanding what is needed and working with their members to find ways to help.
Universities can provided students and professors who can bolster the effort and provide support to them while getting a chance to apply what they are learning in a real setting.
Hospital Systems can provide volunteers, expertise, and health resources to all of the efforts. They can work with each partner and effort to see how healthcare can be injected to keep health at the forefront of the process.
School District can launch after school programs such as tutoring or clubs. Students can be exposed to topics like
entrepreneurship
, health, and how city departments work.
