By Grant H. Brenner, Psychology Today, February 29, 2020
It is no surprise that the “social determinants of illness”—factors related to various forms of deprivation and decreased education related to socioeconomic issues—are associated with poor health outcomes. Adverse childhood experiences alone have been associated with physical and mental illness, causing massive suffering and economic damage. In 2008, The World Health Organization published The Social Determinants of Health, stating:
"Social justice is a matter of life and death. It affects the way people live, their consequent chance of illness, and their risk of premature death. We watch in wonder as life expectancy and good health continue to increase in parts of the world and in alarm as they fail to improve in others."
In 2015, The United Nations challenged us to work toward a better world for all: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Numerous studies have established that social factors are correlated with poor health, but large studies have not looked at pathways from social determinants to health outcomes.
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