Teaching Social Determinants of Health

Posted by Carolyn Martin on September 12th, 2016 Posted in: Training & Education

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The social determinants of health — or conditions under which people live, work, attend school and play — have an effect on health, quality of life, access to care, life expectancy, and more. Factors such as socioeconomic status, education, and physical environment contribute to risk factors and life expectancy. The Kaiser Family Foundation has an issue brief addressing these issues, Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity. The Centers for Disease Control’s Social Determinants of Health page has tools for teaching and learning about the social determinants of health, as does Healthy People 2020, with Interventions and Resources.

Teaching health professions students about the impact of social determinants of health, especially in medical school, is part of a recent trend towards social accountability. Educating future medial providers to be aware of the diversity of their patient populations will lead to better care for these patients. Published in the journal,Medical Teacher, Twelve Tips for Teaching Social Determinants of Health in Medicine, seeks to increase awareness and provide recommendations based on a review of the literature to develop ways of teaching medical students to think critically about the social and cultural issues impacting health.