Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
About
The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is committed to integrating social determinants of health (SDOH) into the curriculum at all levels. As examples of health inequalities increase, so should the capabilities and understanding of nurses.
The social determinants of health (SDH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are 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 and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems.
SDOH Framework
Social Conditions are defined as those that occur due to systemic racism, economic disparities, education gaps, and/or occupations that influence wellness. Specifically, we consider:
- Access to education, financial resources, job opportunities
- Social Support
- Language and Health Literacy
- Access to health care (use of preventative health services, primary care
Customary beliefs, social norms, attitudes, values, practices shared by a group of people (community or society) in a place and time can affect health outcomes. In particular, cultural conditions that can influence SDOH include:
- Religion/spirituality
- Societal values
- Nursing values
- Interpersonal Racism/Discrimination
Customs/behaviors
Identity (ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation)
Physical & social environments have an outsized impact on individual and population health. In the Emory Nursing SDOH Framework, we consider:
- Natural Environment: Green spaces, bike lanes, sidewalks
- Exposure to toxic substances
- Access to healthy foods
- Climate, water quality, air pollution
- Spaces for social interactions/connections
- Familial relationships & social capital
Social settings can also influence wellness via:
- Faith-based institutions
- Quality of schools, worksites, recreational settings
- Affordable housing and transportation
Guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to the welfare of individuals', communities', and societies' quality of life make up the Policy pillar. This pillar considers:
- Affordable/universal healthcare
- Child protection
- Abortion
- Guns
- Sex workers
- LGBTQ issues (including same sex marriage)
- Education/housing policies
- Recreational drugs
- APRN restriction on prescriptions, radiology, dispensing, etc.
Publications
Jill B. Hamilton, Beth Ann Swan, Linda McCauley
Springer Nature, Feb 10, 2023 - Medical - 216 pages
![SDOH Book Cover[23].jpg](https://emorynursing.widen.net/content/3e361cd2-dff0-4be7-b270-7e317f19b439/web/SDOH%20Book%20Cover%5B23%5D.jpg?v=3e361cd2-dff0-4be7-b270-7e317f19b439)
The purpose of this ground-breaking Textbook is to describe and illustrate, with pedagogical features, the process by which social determinants of health (SDOH) has been integrated throughout all courses in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Specifically, the authors describe initial steps to develop a comprehensive SDOH model for nursing education, followed by rigorously designed faculty educational materials, exemplars of SDOH instructional materials, and evaluation of this process from faculty and students. It describes a comprehensive framework that guides the development, implementation, and evaluation of SDOH across the pre-licensure and post-licensure curriculum and illustrate the process integrating SDOH throughout all aspects of didactic, simulation, and clinical education.
Among the subjects addressed, the history of nursing and SDOH and the value of SDOH content in nursing courses to alleviate health disparities are described and mandates to integrate SDOH content into nursing curriculum by the leading nursing organizations are summarized. The authors also include a review of existing SDOH frameworks used in public health and medicine and present a comprehensive SDOH model for nursing education. A SDOH educational course content for faculty is detailed (Social Determinants of Health 101) and exemplars from faculty and students are provided along with an evaluation after the first year. The authors conclude with a discussion from faculty leadership; what they learned and their suggestions to other nursing programs.
Although there are books published, no books exist on this topic for nursing education and practicing nurses, yet SDOH is foundational to nursing curriculum and practice. The leading nursing organizations are all mandating that SDOH be integrated into nursing courses. Hence this textbook will be a key resource for Schools of Nursing in the US and globally. The intended audience of this book are leaders and faculty of nursing education programs, national professional nursing organizations, practicing nurses at hospitals and health systems, community and public health agencies, and ambulatory care.
JB Hamilton & CE Moore (Eds.)
Cham: Springer International Publishing. Forthcoming 2024.
The purpose of this book is to highlight global community-based programs that have been implemented in marginalized and/or low resource global communities. The community programs that incorporate SDOH in this book represent communities from rural, urban-inner city, southern, northeastern, and western geographical regions as well as global communities from Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Botswana, the Grenadines, Nigeria, and Peru. Moreover, the SDOH conditions emphasize a diversity of influences on health and well-being of the individuals in those communities. For ease of reading, we have further classified these SDOH conditions according to a 4 pillar SDOH framework of social, cultural, physical environment, social environment, and policy conditions.
School of Nursing Receives R25 Grant for Pioneering Advanced Research Training in SDOH
School of Nursing Professor Jill Hamilton, PhD, MRPL, RN, along with co-Multi Principal Investigators (MPIs) Professor Drenna Waldrop and Emory University President Emerita and Charles Howard Candler Professor Claire E. Sterk, have been awarded a R25 grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). This grant supports a groundbreaking initiative to advance research training focused on Social Determinants of Health.