Our Zip Code May Be More Important Than Our Genetic Code: Social Determinants of Health, Law and Policy

摘要

Public health is definedas “what we, as a society,do collectively toassure the condition forpeople to be healthy.”(Institute of Medicine(IOM), 1988, 2003). This evokes the social determinants ofhealth – where we live, learn, work and play has a greaterimpact on individual and population health than does accessto health care. However, when we discuss health and healthdisparities, clinical care problems are often framed as theproblems with the health-care system. Recently, the Instituteof Medicine has moved to make the distinction that inpublic health, the clinical care system is but one part of theoverall health system, which should help to avoid the conflationof health as only a product of medical care (IOM 2010).