Keyword Definition 

Keyword Definition: Social Determinants of Health in Latin America

The CDC explains social determinants of health as “nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes.” According to Gottlieb et al. (2019) social determinants are the consequences that affect health due to social risks, such as food insecurity or substandard housing.

According to Osmick and Wilson (2020) the keyword social determinants of health was a paradigm developed in the early 19th century to lead into health equity. It explains how where people live (in regard to social, cultural, and physical environment) are the causes for the health care they receive. In Latin America, UNICEF states that 12 million children and adolescents are outside education. Education is an important determinant as it creates more opportunities to shorten the gap of health inequity. According to PAHO, 77% of people in Latin America had health service coverage in 2019. Which has increased from 2000 where only 65% of the population had health service coverage. This advancement also helps shorten the gap of health inequity as it increases the opportunity to be able to afford healthcare. Although there has been an advancement, there are still other factors such as accessibility to a health care facility. There are some areas in Latin America where education or health service coverage or health care facilities have been reached. While there have been strong advancements in some determinants; each determinant has an effect on the other. 

In De Andrade et al. (2015) it talks about how Latin American countries have suffered through poverty and socioeconomic inequalities, which was one of the leading social determinants in health.  Some countries in Latin America fluctuate in income equity, while others like Brazil have seen large reductions in poverty. Although reductions have been seen, health inequities are still a major problem these countries face.

The graph down below shows human development indexes which include “…a long and healthy life, knowledge, and decent standard of living” (Marmot, 2005). This is related to social determinants in health as all three human development indexes are factors in social determinants that can affect whether a population suffers health inequities.

To improve inequalities, Latin American countries have introduced policies to reform certain inequalities. These policies have had a positive effect since these policies have implemented an increase in minimum wages and opportunities for education. These policies to combat social determinants of health are related to legal studies or politics as it uses governance to combat inequalities. However, health insurance coverage is something that still needs to be improved in these countries. Latin American countries also face challenges from non-communicable diseases which root from urbanization which increases traffic accidents, drug use problems, etc. Which are other social determinants of health factors.

References

De Andrade, L. O. M., Filho, A. P., Solar, O., Rígoli, F., De Salazar, L. M., Serrate, P. C., Ribeiro, K. G., Koller, T. S., Cruz, F. N. B., & Atun, R. (2015). Social determinants of health, universal health coverage, and sustainable development: case studies from Latin American countries. The Lancet, 385(9975), 1343–1351. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(14)61494-x

Osmick, M. J., & Wilson, M. (2020). Social Determinants of Health—Relevant history, a call to action, an organization’s transformational story, and what can employers do? American Journal of Health Promotion, 34(2), 219–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117119896122d

Gottlieb, L., Fichtenberg, C., Alderwick, H., & Adler, N. (2019). Social determinants of health. Journal of Healthcare Management, 64(4), 243–257. https://doi.org/10.1097/jhm-d-18-00160

Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet, 365(9464), 1099–1104. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(05)71146-6

Juda, E. (2022, November 30). 15 terms to know in Global Health | Online Public Health. GW-UMT. https://onlinepublichealth.gwu.edu/resources/global-health-terms-glossary/#Social-Determinants-of-Health

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). (2024, January 17). About CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/about/priorities/why-is-addressing-sdoh-important.html

Advancing towards universal health in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. (n.d.). PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization. https://www.paho.org/en/stories/advancing-towards-universal-health-latin-america-and-caribbean-lessons-covid-19-pandemic#:~:text=In%202019%2C%2077%25%20of%20the,to%2077%20years%20in%202019.

Investing in education. UNICEF. (n.d.). https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/investing-education