Awareness about Equity and the Social Determinants
Building Awareness about Equity and the Social
Determinants of Health
The social determinants of health are the conditions in
which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These
circumstances, such as access to high-quality education,
housing, and financial resources, are the most
responsible for health inequities - the unfair and
avoidable differences in health status seen within and
between communities. Building broad awareness and
understanding of the social determinants of health and
the policies that have created health inequities is an
important step to move towards racial equity, social
justice, and healthier communities.
In order to support this goal, the PLACE program
developed two GIS Story Maps: “
Hidden Health Hazards:
How Our Environments Shape Us” and “
Let’s Walk!” The
Story Maps can be embedded and linked from any website,
and should be broadly used for education to connect the
dots around what determines health and overcoming
barriers to walking. In addition, the PLACE program is
supporting the Department of Regional Planning’s (DRP)
Equitable Development Work Program through the Healthy
Design Workgroup. DRP reports regularly to the Board
with
status updates.
