The Social Determinants of Health

At Glimpses and Visions, we recognize how health outcomes are socially determined and are shaped by the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work and age which include the social, economic, and political forces that shape the quality and distribution of those circumstances.

Similarly, access to health care is socially determined. Our discussion of health services and health systems must extend beyond access and include the broader social and political economic contexts that have shaped the health of Albertans since even before Confederation.

Read our reflections on the social determinants of health below.

Sir Michael Marmot, in Fair Society, Healthy Lives

People with higher socioeconomic position in society have a greater array of life chances and more opportunities to lead a flourishing life. They also have better health. The two are linked: the more favoured people are, socially and economically, the better their health. This link between social conditions and health is not a footnote to the ‘real’ concerns with health – health care and unhealthy behaviours – it should become the main focus.