Social Determinants of Health

Alan Davidson is associate professor emeritus in the Health and Social Development department in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC-Okanagan.

• Introduction: The Conventional Understanding of Health and Its AlternativeHow We Understand Threats to Our HealthA New Perspective on Our Health: Rise of an Alternative ViewHealth InequalitiesThe Basis of Health InequalitiesWhat Lies Ahead1. Thinking about Individual and Population HealthSynopsisLevels of AnalysisIndividual-Level Analysis of Health and DiseaseOrigins of Population HealthSome Notes on TermsTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites2. Health Care Services and Health Research Methods NEWSynopsisHealth Care as a Determinant of HealthHealth Care or Health?Issues of Access and EquityPublic HealthHealth Research MethodsTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites3. Population Health and Social EpidemiologySynopsisThe Emergence of the Field Social EpidemiologyGeoffrey Rose and the Population-Health PerspectiveThe Impact of Recent Studies on Thinking about HealthThe Gradient in HealthThe Building Blocks of TheoryTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites4. Income, Inequality, and HealthSynopsisIncome and HealthThe Gradient in HealthUnderstanding the Complex Relationship between Income and HealthThe Inequality Hypothesis: Preston, Rodgers, Kaplan, and WilkinsonThe Inequality Hypothesis Under AssaultWhat Are We to Make of the Literature on Inequality and Health?The Importance of Keeping Materialist Arguments Separate from Ones about Hierarchy and ControlOther Explanations for the Correlation between Social Inequality and HealthIncome and Income DistributionWealthPublic Programs and ServicesPoverty and Its MitigationPoverty Mitigation: Social Assistance or WelfareLower Taxes or More Public Spending?Theoretical ConsiderationsSummaryThinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites5. Childhood and the Transition to AdulthoodSynopsisEarly ChildhoodAnimal StudiesContributions from PsychologyEarly Childhood PolicyA Note on the Public School SystemOlder Children and TeensTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites6. Gender and HealthSynopsisThe Health of Women and MenThe Convergence of Health-Related BehaviourThe Effects of Stable Long-Term Relationships on HealthDistress Among WomenGender EquityEducation and the Health of Women and Their CommunitiesGay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender PeopleIntersex PeopleTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites7. Social Support, Social Capital, Social Exclusion, and RacismSynopsisSocial Norms, Predictability, and Human HealthSocial NetworksSocial Support and HealthSocial Isolation among Older AdultsSocial CohesionSocial CapitalSense of Community BelongingSocial ExclusionRacismTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites8. Health of Indigenous PeoplesSynopsisWho Are the Indigenous Peoples?The Health of Indigenous PeoplesUnderstanding the Determinants of Indigenous HealthA Story of Dramatic ImprovementTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites9. Employment, Working Conditions, and HealthSynopsisThe Centrality of Employment to Adult HealthHealth and JobsUnemployment and HealthChanges in the Nature of EmploymentWorking Conditions and HealthPolicies Affecting Employment, Earnings, Job Benefits, and Working ConditionsTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites10. Housing and NeighbourhoodSynopsisHomes and HealthNeighbourhood and HealthUrban Design, the Built Environment, and Physical ActivityHousing Policy and HealthTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites11. Food, Food Insecurity, Nutrition, Obesity, and HealthSynopsisDiet and the Health of PopulationsWhat Is a Healthy Diet? Canada's Food GuideThe Relative Cost of Healthy FoodsObesityDiet and HealthPolicies and ProgramsTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites12. The Environment and Health NEWSynopsisClimate ChangeNatural DisastersModern Food Production: Factory FarmingAir PollutionLead, Mercury, and ArsenicThe Household EnvironmentPlasticsTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites13. Social Patterning of BehaviourSynopsisHuman Behaviour and Its ContextSubstance MisuseHealthy LifestylesTheoretical ConsiderationsSummaryCritical Thinking QuestionsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated Websites14. The Politics of Population HealthModels of HealthGlobalization and Human HealthPopulation Health and PoliticsAnnotated Suggested ReadingsAnnotated WebsitesGlossaryReferencesIndex

Davidson's text provides an excellent introduction to the social determinants of health in a way that is highly engaging and accessible. The breadth and depth of material covered is very effective."