[afro-nets] Social Determinants of Health List-server

["Robb Travers" <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Social Determinants of Health List-server
-----------------------------------------

From: <maija.kagis@sympatico.ca>
and     Robb Travers <rtravers@OHTN.ON.CA>

Social Determinants of Health List-serve at York University, Toronto, Canada

There is increasing recognition in the health promotion field that the factors that are the prime determinants of health are outside the health care and behavioural risk arenas. Many of these factors involve public policy decisions made by governments that influence the distribution of income, degree of social security, and quality and availability of education, food, and housing, among others. These non-medical and non-lifestyle factors have come to be known as the social determinants of health. In many nations - and this is especially the case in North America -- recent policy decisions are undermining these social determinants of health..

The Social Determinants of Health Listserv is intended as an international forum for those concerned with the latest developments in theory, research, and practice regarding the social determinants of health..

Social determinants of health are the economic and social conditions that influence the health of individuals, communities, and jurisdictions as a whole. Social determinants of health determine whether individuals stay healthy or become ill.  Social determinants of health also determine the extent to which a person possesses the physical, social and personal resources to identify and achieve personal aspirations, satisfy needs, and cope with the environment. Social determinants of health are about the quantity and quality of a variety of resources that a society makes available to its members.

These resources include -- but are not limited to - conditions of childhood, income, availability of food, housing, employment and working conditions, and health and social services.  It also includes issues of gender, class, racism and other forms of social exclusion. An emphasis upon societal conditions as determinants of health contrasts with the traditional focus upon biomedical and behavioural risk factors such as cholesterol, body weight, physical activity, diet, and tobacco use. Since a social determinants of health approach sees the mainsprings of health as being how a society organizes and distributes economic and social resources, it directs attention to economic and social policies as means of improving health. A social determinants of health approach is explicitly political.

These concerns about the neglect of the importance of social determinants of health led to the setting-up of the SDOH list-serve at York University in Toronto, Canada. The purpose of the list-serve conference is to: a) provide the latest information on scholarship on social determinants of health; b); explore the implications of these conditions for the health of citizens; and c) provide support for those attempting to strengthen these social determinants of health in their local jurisdictions.

We are interested in both the specific social determinants of health as well as their health effects.  Therefore we are interested in current issues related to early childhood and care, housing, food insecurity, etc. in addition to their effects upon health.

To subscribe:
Send the following to listserv@yorku.ca in the message section:
subscribe SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname

To send a message to the list, address it to:
SDOH@yorku.ca  [no attachments]


Robb Travers, PhD
Scientist, Director of Community-Based Research=20
Ontario HIV Treatment Network
1300 Yonge St., Suite 308
Toronto, ON, Canada
M4T1X3
Tel +1 416 642 6486 x 311
Tel +1 877 743 6486
mobile +1 647 407 4302
fax +1 416 640 4245
E-mail mailto:rtravers@ohtn.on.ca 
http://www.ohtn.on.ca