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The World Health Organization defines the social determinants of health as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.” These forces and systems include economic policies, development agendas, cultural and social norms, social policies, and political systems. Educating health professionals about the social determinants of health generates awareness among those professionals about the potential root causes of ill health and the importance of addressing them in and with communities, contributing to more effective strategies for improving health and health care for underserved individuals, communities, and populations.

In September 2015, the Institute of Medicine convened a committee on Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health. The committee's charge was to explore how the education of health professionals is currently addressing the social determinants of health in and with communities. The committee was asked to develop a framework for how the education of health professionals for better understanding the social determinants of health could be strengthened across the learning continuum. The resulting report, A Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health, also puts forth a conceptual model for the framework’s use with the goal of helping stakeholder groups envision ways in which organizations, education, and communities can come together to address health inequalities. The committee's report will be released in March, 2016.  

A pre-publication version of the report can be accessed here. 

Click the link below to access the accompanying webcast "A Discussion of the IOM Report, A Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health."