Social Determinants of Health

Health is not a standalone topic and is determined by many factors. Society and the immediate environment of a person plays a vital role in the health and disease of a person. The society a person born in and live in, get an education breath air, and go to school has a considerable impact on how the person will live the rest of his life. Society and social status determine access to healthcare facilities and the provision of necessities. Children born in poor neighborhoods are exposed to more pollution and health hazards. Similarly, if children are getting not enough food for the proper growth due to his/her socioeconomic status that child is likely to get malnourished and eventually would drop out of school, a vicious cycle that continues.

There is a high correlation between what the person has in his surroundings and how it impacts their physical and mental health. There are many social determinants of health such as socioeconomic situation, neighborhood, access to education, food safety and security, and the health care infrastructure. This is the same reason governments and NGOs work for the betterment of societies and infrastructure developments for the community building rather than the individual. Policies focused on the social and economic conditions and those policies that provide a way to break from the vicious cycle of poverty through individual behavioral changes are likely to prove a better strategy to develop a healthier society (Adler, Glymour, & Fielding, 2016; Artiga & Hinton, 2019).