Social Determinants of Health

The conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life, all of which impact health and wellbeing.

Past Events

September 26, 2023

Event Description Clinical trials provide critical evidence for evaluating whether new drugs and treatments are safe and effective. Including a diverse and representative patient population in clinical trials is fundamental to ensuring that all communities benefit from innovation in medicine.  New federal requirements which Congress enacted as part of the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform […]

September 13, 2023

As the health care system grapples with unprecedented challenges post-pandemic – from workforce to supply chain shortages, from technological advances to continued health inequities and affordability challenges – will the future of the health care system meet the needs of real people and communities? When “people” become “patients,” what happens? And what do health policy leaders need to know to put people first?

December 9, 2022

Despite significant investments to improve access to high-quality health care, health inequities in the United States persist by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, as well as by economic and community level factors such as geographic location, poverty status, and employment. While opportunities to advance health equity through clinical care continue to be […]

October 12, 2022

In the late 1980s, HIV/AIDS became a significant threat to public health, with the virus ultimately taking the lives of an estimated 2 million people at the peak of the epidemic in 2006. With effective treatments and increased awareness, new HIV diagnoses were on the decline by the mid-1990s; and today, HIV/AIDS is now considered […]

October 6, 2022

Health data, such as race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation and, gender identity are crucial to addressing public health needs and in understanding the various backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses of beneficiaries covered by federal and state health care programs. Across Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurances, and federal delivery systems such as the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Indian […]

November 29, 2021

Environmental health is a vast, highly interdisciplinary field within public health that focuses on the connections and interactions between people and their environment across several facets. The field extends beyond analysis of the natural environment and investigates where we live, what we eat and drink, how and where we work, and the relationships we have […]

November 17, 2021

As of January 2020, over 580,000 individuals were experiencing homelessness in America, in every state and territory. 2020 was the fourth consecutive year that rates of homelessness increased, with a 2 percent increase between 2019 and 2020 alone, and saw a growing population of people living outdoors. In August of 2021, the Supreme Court issued […]

September 15, 2021

Conversations around health equity and social determinants of health have received heightened attention and are continuously evolving within the health policy community. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with eye-opening events that garnered international attention, has been one of the health policy community’s greatest teachers, putting equity and health justice at top of mind and accelerating multi-sectoral […]

August 25, 2021

On December 14, 2020, the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered under U.S. FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the United States. Since then, 47% of the eligible U.S. population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 55.2% have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Unfortunately, vaccine confidence and other roadblocks have continued to […]

June 16, 2020

COVID-19 Webinar Series Overview This COVID-19 Webinar Series synthesizes the information in the headlines to provide cohesive insight into the status of the response and remaining gaps in the system that must be addressed to limit the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States. Session 18 – Health Inequities: Addressing the Disease Burden […]

March 6, 2020

We would like to invite you to join us for a day-long conference focusing on the fundamentals of health policy, the American health care system, and how it relates to the legislative process. “Health Policy Academy” is ideal for Congressional staff members looking to expand and strengthen their knowledge of health policy through panel discussions […]

Toolkits

The Connection between Health and Housing: The Evidence and Policy Landscape

Evidence is growing that housing, a social determinant of health, is an important factor in the health status of various populations. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), more than 610,000 people experience homelessness in the U.S., and over 250,000 individuals within that population have a severe mental illness or a chronic […]

Sourcebook Chapters

The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age that affect their health.

Policymakers

Members of Congress, Congressional and agency staff, federal, state, and local legislators.

Health Care Stakeholders

Industry stakeholders, practitioners and providers, patient advocates, community organizations, academics.

Media

Members of the press, journalists, public relations professionals.