Wider Determinants of Health

Note: Updates to indicators and structure of the Wider Determinants of Health profile

To ensure that indicators published in the Wider Determinants of Health profile are timely, useful and robust, a number of indicators have been discontinued. Full details of the indicators removed are in this uploaded spreadsheet.

To improve the usability of the profile, we have simplified the domains. Health Assets and Health Outcomes have been removed. Income and Vulnerability have combined to create a new domain, Income and vulnerability. 

Introduction

Wider determinants are a diverse range of social, economic and environmental factors which impact on people’s health. They’re also known as social determinants.

These factors are influenced by the local, national and international distribution of power and resources which shape the conditions of daily life. They determine the extent to which different individuals have the physical, social and personal resources to:

  • identify and achieve goals
  • meet their needs
  • deal with changes to their circumstances

The Marmot review, published in 2010, raised the profile of wider determinants of health by emphasising the strong and persistent link between social inequalities and disparities in health outcomes. Social inequalities are widely considered as the ‘causes of the causes’. For example, as long as social inequalities persist, health inequalities are likely to persist through changes in disease patterns and behavioural risks.

Addressing the wider determinants of health has a key role to play in reducing health inequalities, which is one of OHID’s core functions. Several studies have concluded that wider determinants have a greater influence on health than health care, behaviours or genetics. It’s therefore an important aspect of public health in terms of informing preventative action and reducing inequality. Alongside the Marmot review, the Dame Carol Black review also highlighted the huge economic costs of failing to act on the wider determinants of health.

For details of each profile update, and accompanying statistical commentaries, visit the Wider Determinants of Health collection.

The aims of this profile

The purpose of the profile is to provide the public health system with intelligence regarding the wider determinants of health to help improve population health and reduce health inequalities. This Fingertips profile aims to:

  • provide a set of indicators which describe a range of wider determinants of health and enable a comparison of these factors between areas
  • highlight relationships between wider determinants and other risk factors and health outcomes
  • provide, where possible, links to further resources for tackling wider determinants. This may take the form of best practice, case studies, interventions, guidance, or links to other data tools or analyses

Contact us

This tool is an ongoing project and will continue to be developed over time. For enquiries or feedback, email PHA-OHID@dhsc.gov.uk