The social determinants of health include the basic financial resources and supportive environments necessary for a healthy life.
Access to adequate income, affordable housing, healthy food, education, and recreational opportunities influence our ability to make healthy choices and ultimately, the state of our physical and mental health, and our life expectancy.
Health inequities result from a concentration of disease risk factors within populations facing barriers, including the social conditions in which people live or work.
Chronic disease arising from socioeconomic inequities is a costly drain in terms of lost productivity, foregone tax revenue, reduced consumer spending and higher public expenditures. If action is not taken on the social determinants of health, then health inequities and costs may actually increase.
Population-based health promotion and disease prevention strategies that take an integrated approach to the risk factors are needed along with broader measures to improve social conditions for equity-deserving British Columbians.
BCAHL recommends the following policy options:
- The provincial government develop a comprehensive cross-government action plan with specific targets to address health inequities arising from socioeconomic disadvantage.
- A review of policies within the provincial ministries with respect to their impact on the reduction of inequities in health and strengthening disease prevention and that these activities be included in all Ministry Service Plans and be evaluated.
- The provincial government engage with other sectors of society – non-profit organizations, business, academia, labour, media, other levels of government and agencies – in developing a coordinated and integrated “whole of society” approach to healthy living.
