Determinants of Health

The history of health determinants in Canada influenced both the direction of data gathering about population health and government policies designed to improve health. Two competing movements marked these changes. The idea of health promotion grew out of the 1974 Lalonde report, which recognized that determinants of health went beyond traditional public health and medical care, and argued for the importance of socioeconomic factors. Research on health inequalities was led by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in the 1980s, which produced evidence of health inequalities along socioeconomic lines and argued for policy efforts in early child development. Both movements have shaped current information gathering and the policies that have come to be labeled “population health.”

The most important influences on our health may not be the first things we think of. People often believe their health is influenced solely by behaviours such as smoking, diet and exercise. While these factors play a role, they often stem from determinant ...

This video is a 4-minute summary of the Determinants of Health! Determinants are factors that can influence a person’s health. While the focus of health interventions has typically been, who people are and what they do, the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age are critically important in determining the health of individuals and communities. Created by Dr Ranil Appuhamy Voice over by James Clark References/Further reading: 1. WHO definition of Health: https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/constitution 2. WHO Social Determinants of Health: https://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ 3. Australia’s Health: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2018/contents/table-of-contents 4. WHO: Country Statistics: https://www.who.int/countries/sle/en/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: These videos are provided for educational purposes only. Users should not rely solely on the information contained within these videos and is not intended to be a substitute for advice from other relevant sources. The author/s do not warrant or represent that the information contained in the videos are accurate, current or complete and do not accept any legal liability or responsibility for any loss, damages, costs or expenses incurred by the use of, or reliance on, or interpretation of, the information contained in the videos.

Many factors combine together to affect the health of individuals and communities. Whether people are healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment. To a large extent, factors such as where we live, the state of our environment, genetics, our income and education level, and our relationships with friends and family all have considerable impacts on health, whereas the more commonly considered factors such as access and use of health care services often have less of an impact.