University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Social determinant of health and health disparities

Taeyeon Kim

IHLT 232

Dr. Lara-Cinisomo

January 29th
Everyone should have an equal opportunity to reach their highest degree of health, according to

the definition of health equity, which states that there shouldn't be any health disparities or

discrimination among groups based on social status. In contrast, when we talk about health

disparities, we mean differences in health that are directly related to social, economic, and/or

environmental disadvantages. According to Healthy People 2030, the social determinants of

health (SDOH) are the “conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work,

play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality of life

outcomes and risks. The social determinant factors, such as socioeconomic position, education,

neighborhood, and social support networks can address and account for the current health

inequities in society. Thus, it is very important to analyze and address the social determinants of

health to improve health and lessen the persistent disparities in health and health care.

Particularly, social and economic factors influence people's capacity to engage in healthy

activities. For example, people with greater levels of education appear to have better health than

people who did not have the chance to pursue higher education. Additionally, stability is

influenced by the neighborhood and physical surroundings. People who reside in an area that is

generally unsafe are more likely to experience safety issues, be exposed to rubbish, and live in

bad-condition housing. We must therefore take into account and get a deeper understanding of

the socioeconomic determinants, which have their roots in social and economic disadvantages, in

order to address and eliminate health disparities. Since social determinants have a significant

influence on health outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable communities, we need a

variety of perspectives and the capacity to consider potential behavioral factors and address

underlying factors associated with social determinants of health in order to address the social

problems brought on by health disparity.

 Works Cited

Samantha Artiga Follow @SArtiga2 on Twitter and Elizabeth Hinton Published: May 10, 2018.

“Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health

Equity.” KFF, 9 July 2019, https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-

brief/beyond-health-care-the-role-of-social-determinants-in-promoting-health-and-health-

equity/.