Social Determinants of Health

What if governments created policies that addressed the upstream causes of the big social, economic, environmental, and health challenges of our time, rather than putting a bandaid the symptoms?

 

Our health is about more than what happens in the doctor's office. In fact, it is everything that happens before that moment. Where you live and work, your race, ethnicity, and gender can impact your mental and physical health. Our health is affected by factors like whether we have access to affordable, adequate housing, food, and can earn a fair wage at a good job. These are the upstream causes of health, the social determinants. 

 

Think Upstream wants to reframe how governments approach systemic issues, with a focus on whole-of-government policy, upstream solutions to the social determinants of health and community wealth building approaches that produce healthier individuals and healthier communities.