What encompasses the Social Determinants of Health?

The Social Determinants of Health refer to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age that significantly affect their health outcomes. This includes a wide range of factors, among which economic stability and education are fundamental.

Economic stability encompasses aspects such as income level, employment status, and wealth, all of which influence access to resources, including healthcare, nutritious food, and safe housing. Education also plays a critical role, as higher educational attainment is often associated with better health outcomes. Educational opportunities can lead to improved job prospects, higher income, and greater awareness of healthful lifestyle choices, all of which contribute positively to an individual's health.

In contrast, individual health behaviors, cultural influences, and genetic factors, while they certainly affect health, do not fall under the umbrella of social determinants as comprehensively as economic stability and education do. Individual health behaviors pertain more to personal lifestyle choices, cultural influences relate to beliefs and practices that can affect health, and genetic factors involve innate biological aspects that can influence health status and risk, but they do not directly represent the societal conditions that shape health outcomes. Thus, economic stability and education are integral elements of the broader framework of social determinants of health.