2.1 Social determinants of health
Consider this…
At age 25, Aliya has four children aged seven and under. Aliya dropped out of school in Grade 10 because she was pregnant. She was a strong student up until that time… Read more
Keeping in mind that these scenarios are simplistic and fictional, what are the factors that are working for and against each family?
Are some of the factors social determinants?
Does society have a responsibility to support these families and, if so, what kinds of policies and programs might be helpful or protective?
The concept of social determinants of health was introduced in the overview section of this module. On this page, we will consider some of the research related to social determinants.
A useful example of a very large and ongoing population study is the British Birth Cohort Study, which is following everyone who was born in Britain in the first week of March in 1958. The study allows us to look back and see, on a large scale, how populations develop over time. The study finds that physical, social-emotional and cognitive development in childhood is associated with outcomes in later life. In the next clip, Dr. Clyde Hertzman discusses these findings.
Dr. Noralou Roos explains some research looking at early risk factors, impacts on later development and whether there are differences in birth characteristics between those with risk factors and those without.
What do you think is significant about the finding that babies who are at risk are basically as healthy at birth as those who are not at risk?
What about the finding that within the first year of life those who are at risk are hospitalized much more frequently than babies without risk factors?
Every year, the Public Health Officer reports to the Canadian parliament on the state of public health in Canada. In 2009, the focus was on health in childhood – Dr. David Butler-Jones authored the report, Growing up well: Priorities for a healthy future. In the next video, he discusses why the focus was on health determinants that can be impacted through changes in policy or practices.
Now listen as Butler-Jones answers the question of what the most pressing health issues are for children in Canada.
More than ten years later, data show that only moderate gains have been made in early learning outcomes. While gains have been made in infant mortality, rates of childhood poverty have increased. Addressing these health issues continues to be one of the priority areas identified by Canada’s current Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Tam. A National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health blog states that “by looking deeper at the levels where early childhood health inequities exist, public health can disrupt the patterns of disadvantage that can be lifelong” (Oickle, D., February 27, 2019).
On the next page, you will consider research related to socioeconomic gradients.
