While extensive research has demonstrated that social determinants make a substantial difference to the health of adults and children alike, it can be difficult to understand how social conditions actually affect biology. Healthier Societies: From Analysis to Action addresses the fundamental questions that need to be answered in this regard before countries will invest seriously in addressing social conditions as a way of improving the health of the entire population. Part I of this book addresses the extent to which health is determined by biological factors or by social factors, and, more fu ... More

While extensive research has demonstrated that social determinants make a substantial difference to the health of adults and children alike, it can be difficult to understand how social conditions actually affect biology. Healthier Societies: From Analysis to Action addresses the fundamental questions that need to be answered in this regard before countries will invest seriously in addressing social conditions as a way of improving the health of the entire population. Part I of this book addresses the extent to which health is determined by biological factors or by social factors, and, more fundamentally, how the biological and social factors interact. Part II examines four case studies that demonstrate the ways in which social change can dramatically affect the health of adults, as well as launch children's lives onto healthy trajectories; this section analyzes nutrition, working conditions, social inequalities, and geographic disparities. Part III outlines the challenge of translating the research described in the first two sections into action. Even when people are convinced that social factors are as important as biological ones in determining health, and even when they believe that the impact is enormous in both adulthood and childhood, the challenge of changing and developing public policies and programs still remains. This last section takes a serious look at what would be involved in meeting this challenge.