Social determinants of health: a view on theory and measurement

The theory and measurement of the social determinants of health featured in a three-part seminar series on Social Determinants of Health, Law and Policy held at the Taubman Center for Public Policy, Brown University in February 2012. The seminar series represents a broader commitment to engage the public, health providers, researchers, and policy makers in dialogue for the purposes of identifying and addressing social determinants of health at community and state levels. This article summarizes and expands upon the first part of the series by defining social determinants of health and exploring methodological debates over their measurement, with a focus on income inequality, racism and discrimination, housing security, and food security. The authors of this article and the members of the seminar series represent the kind of interdisciplinary and applied work necessary for addressing the five key areas of social determinants of health identified in Healthy People 2020: economic stability, education, social and community context, health and health care, and neighborhood and environment.