Determinants, Health Promotion, and Prevention

Health is produced through interacting conditions

Determinants of health are the biological, social, economic, cultural, and physical conditions that shape exposure, opportunity, resources, behavior, and response. Healthy People groups social determinants into economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. These levels interact. Income can affect housing and food access; transportation can affect work and appointments; discrimination can alter stress, opportunity, and trust; illness can reduce income. Individual counseling may help within current conditions, but it cannot repair an unsafe water supply or an unaffordable food environment. Good nutrition practice identifies the mechanism, level, and modifiable barrier without removing personal agency or blaming a person for a constrained choice.