Community Health and its
Determinants
Community Health
The term "community health" refers to
the health status of a defined group of
people, or community, and the actions
and conditions that protect and
improve the health of the community.
Why is it important?
Community health impacts everything—
educational achievement, safety and crime,
people’s ability to work and be financially healthy,
life expectancy, happiness and more.
It also helps to reduce health gaps caused by
differences in race and ethnicity, location, social
status, income and other factors that can affect
health.
Determinants of Health
The range of personal, social, economic,
and environmental factors that influence
health status are known as determinants of
health. Determinants of health fall under
several broad categories and they are:
Policymaking
Social factors
Health services
Individual behavior
Biology and genetics
1. Policymaking
Policies at the local, state, and federal level
affect individual and population health.
Increasing taxes on tobacco sales, for
example, can improve population health by
reducing the number of people using
tobacco products.
Policymaking
Some policies affect entire populations
over extended periods of time while
simultaneously helping to change
individual behavior.
2. Social Factors
Social determinants of health reflect the
social factors and physical conditions of the
environment in which people are born, live,
learn, play, work, and age. Also known
as social and physical determinants of
health, they impact a wide range of health,
functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes.
Social Factors (examples of social
determinants)
Availability of resources to meet daily needs, such as educational and job opportunities, living
wages, or healthful foods
Social norms and attitudes, such as discrimination
Exposure to crime, violence, and social disorder, such as the presence of trash
Social support and social interactions
Exposure to mass media and emerging technologies, such as the Internet or cell phones
Socioeconomic conditions, such as concentrated poverty
Quality schools
Transportation options
Public safety
Residential segregation
Social Factors (examples of physical
determinants)
Natural environment, such as plants, weather, or climate change
Built environment, such as buildings or transportation
Worksites, schools, and recreational settings
Housing, homes, and neighborhoods
Exposure to toxic substances and other physical hazards
Physical barriers, especially for people with disabilities
Aesthetic elements, such as good lighting, trees, or benches
3. Health Services
Both access to health services and the quality of
health services can impact health.
Lack of access, or limited access, to health
services greatly impacts an individual’s health
status. For example, when individuals do not have
health insurance, they are less likely to participate
in preventive care and are more likely to delay
medical treatment.
Barriers to accessing health services
include:
Lack of availability
High cost
Lack of insurance coverage
Limited language access
These barriers to accessing health
services lead to:
Unmet health needs
Delays in receiving appropriate care
Inability to get preventive services
Hospitalizations that could have been prevented
4. Individual Behavior
Many public health and health care interventions
focus on changing individual behaviors such as
substance abuse, diet, and physical activity.
Positive changes in individual behavior can
reduce the rates of chronic disease in this country.
For example, if an individual quits smoking, his or
her risk of developing heart disease is greatly
reduced.
Examples of individual behavior
determinants of health include:
Diet
Physical activity
Alcohol, cigarette, and other drug use
Hand washing
5. Biology and Genetics
Some biological and genetic factors affect
specific populations more than others. For
example, older adults are biologically prone
to being in poorer health than adolescents
due to the physical and cognitive effects of
aging.
Examples of biological and genetic social
determinants of health include:
Age
Sex
HIV status
Family history of heart disease
QUIZ
1. What is community health?
2-6. What are the five determinants of health?
References:
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-
of-Health
https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/health-sciences/blog/what-is-community-health/
