Social Determinants of Health, Illustrated

GWW Opinion

August 22, 2017

We’ve written a number of articles on how government agencies are working to improve social factors in the effort to lower medical costs. These so called “social determinants of health” can be difficult to easily address.

Thus, in the effort to make them more accessible, we found some useful infographics from The Nation’s Health, a publication of the American Public Health Association that explain the key factors of social determinants. We’ve added tips on how our CiviServ tool, used by Live Better Idaho, can improve these issues around housing, education, and income.

Overview

Statistic: 6.5 million children live in low income neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket.
Solution: Live Better Idaho’s Food & Nutrition section helps by providing access to nearby farmer’s markets and other alternative food sources, as well as food payment assistance.

Education

Statistic: People who graduate from college live at least five years longer than people who don’t finish high school.
Solution: Live Better Idaho’s Work & Education section helps by providing information on educational opportunities and counseling for low income areas.

Housing

Statistic: 26.4 percent of renters spent more than half of their income on housing.
Solution: Live Better Idaho’s Financial Assistance section helps by providing access to assistance for housing expenses.

Income

Statistic: In 2014, more than 44 percent of youth (31 million) lived below or just above the poverty level.
Solution: Live Better Idaho’s Family Services section helps by providing information on assistance for children.

Why do social determinants matter?

Social determinants influence the fact that “the United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, yet it ranks poorly on nearly every measure of health status.” See “Wholistic Solutions for Improving Social Determinants of Health” for more on this topic.

Our priority here at GovWebworks is to help agencies provide a macro solution. One tool can address the many single cause efforts around improving education, housing, and income potential in target communities. Read more in “From Single Cause to Macro Solution.”

To this point, we discuss how the Live Better Idaho tool is addressing these goals in “Targeting Social Determinants of Health.”

As noted, the CiviServ Saas product used by Live Better Idaho was built specifically to help connect citizens with available services. We believe in this product. Not only is it a useful tool, but it can improve social determinants, lower medical costs, and increase longevity.

Ask us how we can help!