Question
What is meant by social determinants of health?
Answer
For a long time, it was assumed that health was an outcome of our genetics. But now we really understand that health is highly dependent on our environments. Social determinants of health are conditions of living. It is how and where we live. It is the circumstances of our lives that affect our health, our mental health, and children's development. It includes the resources, opportunities, and hazards that are present in our environment.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the Continued Learning Podcast, Social Work Practice and Achieving Health Equity, presented by Benjamin T. Bencomo, DSW, LISW, LCSW and Judy Barnstone, MSW, PhD
Continued and its subsidiaries provide professional education authored by qualified Subject Matter Experts for continuing education purposes. These materials are intended for educational purposes and do not constitute medical advice or a substitute for individual clinical judgment. Continued is not a clinical healthcare provider; the licensed professional is solely responsible for ensuring that the application of any techniques or information presented is within their legal scope of practice and jurisdictional requirements.
