Social Determinants of Health: A View on Theory and Measurement

摘要

The theory and measurement of the social determinantsof health featured in a three-part seminar series on SocialDeterminants of Health, Law and Policy held at theTaubman Center for Public Policy, Brown University inFebruary 2012.1 The seminar series represents a broadercommitment to engage the public, health providers,researchers, and policy makers in dialogue for the purposesof identifying and addressing social determinantsof health at community and state levels. This articlesummarizes and expands upon the first part of the seriesby defining social determinants of health and exploringmethodological debates over their measurement, with afocus on income inequality, racism and discrimination,housing security, and food security. The authors of thisarticle and the members of the seminar series representthe kind of interdisciplinary and applied work necessaryfor addressing the five key areas of social determinants ofhealth identified in Healthy People 2020: economic stability,education, social and community context, healthand health care, and neighborhood and environment.