Social determinants of health are the non-medical conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age that shape their health and contribute to health inequities. They include income and economic security, education, employment and working conditions, housing, food security, social support and social capi…
Social determinants of health are the non-medical conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age that shape their health and contribute to health inequities. They include income and economic security, education, employment and working conditions, housing, food security, social support and social capital, discrimination, and access to health services, as well as the broader structural forces and policies that distribute these conditions across populations. Because they operate upstream of individual behaviour and biology, social determinants help explain why health outcomes differ systematically between social groups and geographic areas, influencing the uptake of services, exposure to risk, and vulnerability to disease. Their effects are evident in inequities in access to care, in the mental and physical health consequences of discrimination, violence, and disadvantage, and in the differential impact of environmental hazards and climate-related events. Addressing social determinants requires action beyond the clinic, through intersectoral policy, community-based programmes, and attention to equity, alongside the use of health-impact assessment to anticipate how policies affect health. Research relevant to this topic examines how socioeconomic and demographic factors, social capital, discrimination, and environmental conditions influence health and well-being across the life course, and how interventions and policies can mitigate the unequal distribution of the conditions that determine health.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 13 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Social Determinants of Health, linking to each citing work.