Revisiting the conceptualization of social sustainability from a health promotion perspective: a scoping review

Both social sustainability and health promotion emphasize the development of local communities that satisfy human needs and enhance health and well-being. This scoping review aimed to identify frameworks, components, and operationalizations of social sustainability described in peer-reviewed articles and systematize the results from a health promotion perspective.

Six databases were searched for relevant articles following the JBI methodology and PRISMA guidelines. Articles were included if they provided a unique framework for social sustainability, that is, a conceptual model outlining the essential components of this concept. Information concerning the components of social sustainability and their operationalizations was analyzed through a six-step narrative synthesis. The final step involved categorizing the operationalizations of social sustainability into distinct levels by employing a socio-ecological model as an analytical tool.

This review identified 22 articles presenting a social sustainability framework. The frameworks covered 11 components, of which social equity, safety, and neighborhood quality were the most frequent, while only five included health and well-being. The frameworks commonly provided practical interpretations of the concept with limited theoretical considerations. Furthermore, the identified operationalizations revealed a diverse understanding of social sustainability, encompassing all levels of the socio-ecological model applied.

Health promotion research can offer theoretical and empirical insights that enhance the understanding of social sustainability, especially how societal, physical, and social determinants of health and well-being interact to create socially sustainable places. Likewise, the social sustainability literature may provide valuable knowledge underscoring the importance of contextual factors of health and well-being within the field of health promotion.