Social Determinants of Health Framework and Resource Guide

Social determinants of health are the interconnected non-medical factors that affect our well-being. They include the conditions in which we are born, grow, work, live and age, such as income, education and housing. They also include the broader economic, political and social context.

Improving people’s health means taking care of both medical needs and non-medical, health-related social needs. For example, making sure people have access to nutritious food, quality housing and critical social supports.

This evidence-based framework and resource guide are practical tools to help health care and community leaders improve health outcomes by dealing with non-medical, health-related social issues that affect people’s health.

About the Framework

Recognizing that health is much more than health care, our Social Determinants of Health Framework outlines eight evidence-based principles to help shift the focus from managing illness to creating wellness. It is a guide for our collective efforts to include social needs in care planning and deal with the underlying health inequities and root causes that hold illness in place.

The framework describes these principles and includes an example of each principle in action.

• Adopt a One System Approach
• Shift Power Dynamics
• Rebalance the Focus
• Listen to What Matters
• Collect the Right Data
• Harness Collective Action
• Mobilize Knowledge
• Remove Funding Barriers

When developing the framework we used World Health Organization, Glossary of Essential Health Equity Terms, Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, 2nd Edition to identify social determinants of health. The principles of this framework can be applied to any social determinants of health relevant to your work.

Social determinants of health affect everyone (Social Determinants of Health Bulletin, Ontario Hospital Association).

The framework was developed through extensive research and consultations with subject matter experts from Ontario and around the world, including individuals with lived experience.

About the Resource Guide

The Social Determinants of Health Resource Guide was designed to accompany the framework, providing actionable tools, resources and real-world examples to drive a paradigm shift in care planning. This guide aims to support upstream initiatives to address population health needs that focus on what matters most to individuals. Reflecting collective feedback from health and social care partners and experts, the resource guide offers tangible steps and actions that organizations can immediately begin putting into action in their care planning.

Our Role – A Commitment to Population Health

At Ontario Health, we focus on both health and wellness for everyone in Ontario. With a population health approach, we lead work to support a cultural shift in:

• how social needs are integrated into care planning
• the role of non-medical services in improving the health and well-being of everyone in Ontario

This work aligns with our plan to address equity, inclusion, diversity and anti-racism in Ontario. A key component of the plan is to contribute to population health through a collective focus on the determinants of health. To learn more about it, go to Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism Framework.