Reporting on the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 among Black and indigenous populations in the United States has widened the health equity conversation and elicited a strong response from the healthcare industry.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on ECG's website.
In particular, leading healthcare organizations called out racism as a public health threat and committed to addressing long-standing, and now more visible, health disparities rooted in racism. For those in the community and population health arena, the message is clear: it is time to pair social determinants of health (SDOH) with a racial health equity (RHE) lens to ensure that interventions are as impactful as possible.
These two concepts, SDOH and RHE—while interrelated—are distinct. The differences, as well as the areas of overlap, matter and can lead to smarter decisions and more inclusive strategies for building health equity, especially through primary care, and potentially influence an organization’s perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
What are SDOH?
The term SDOH has its origins in the public health and has gained popularity among health professionals over the past few decades. When talking about SDOH, we generally mean the conditions in the environment where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health issues, the ability to function, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Health professionals and community leaders, especially those focused on improving primary care and population health, have built and implemented strategies over the past few decades to improve the social drivers of health. Click here to continue>>
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