Table of Contents >
Chapter 17. Analyzing Community Problems and Solutions >
Section 5. Addressing Social Determinants of Health and Development >
|
| Contributed by Phil Rabinowitz Edited by Christina Holt |
Checklist
Here you will find a checklist summarizing the important points of the section.
What are social determinants of community health and development?
__ Social determinants of community health and development issues are the social factors that determine and influence the issues.
__ The three overarching factors are:
__ The ways they most often play out are in:
- Differences in vulnerability
- Differences in consequences for different populations.
__ More specific social determinants can include
Why address social determinants of community health and development?
__ If you want to solve or prevent a problem for the long term, you have to deal with its root causes.
__ If you address the root causes, you’re more likely to successfully address the issue for the short term as well.
__ The social factors involved may have more resonance for those affected than the issue itself.
__ It may be easier to approach an issue through its underlying social factors than to deal with it directly.
__ Addressing the social determinants of community issues is crucial to understanding them fully, so that your strategy and tactics for dealing with them correspond to reality.
__ Addressing social determinants presents a tremendous opportunity for learning and community leadership development.
Who should address social determinants of community health and development?
__ Those affected by the issues (the targets of change).
__ Those who can have an effect on the issues (the agents of change).
__ Staff members from organizations that work directly with the target population and/or the issue.
__ Respected community leaders and citizens.
__ Those who will be asked to change, sacrifice, or take action in order to address the issue.
__ Anyone else who has a stake in the issue.
When should you address social determinants of community health and development?
__ When it’s clear that simply focusing on the issue isn’t enough.
__ When you’re advocating for changes in laws, policies, or funding.
__ When you’re seeking fundamental change.
__ When you’re seeking a long-term solution to a long-term problem.
__ When your focus is on community wellness and prevention.
How do you identify social determinants of community health and development?
__ You assess the community
__ You ask people who know.
__ You apply critical thinking principles to the issue.
__ You ask the right questions.
How do you address social determinants of health and community development?
__ You work to address larger social factors through environmental and policy conditions, including:
- Support within and between groups
- Modification of access to, barriers to, and opportunities for resources and services
- Exposure to or protection from hazards
You’re guided by basic principles:
__ People most affected should choose the issues and plan strategies for the work.
__ True change in social determinants demands comprehensive interventions that address multiple and interrelated factors at multiple levels.
__ Collaborative efforts should aim at bringing about change in multiple sectors and systems.
__ Support organizations should build capacity in the community to control its own fate.
__ Health and development efforts should involve collaborative partners as catalysts for change.
__ Strategies should be self-sufficient and sustainable over the long term.
__ Efforts should be aimed at goals that can be accomplished by the people in question with the resources at hand.
__ Successes should be consolidated and maintained, so that new and greater challenges can be taken on.
__ Efforts should continue indefinitely.