Social Determinants of Health Index: How Well Does Your Organization Score?
Social determinants of health are “conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks” (United States Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d., n.p.). Social determinants of health recognize that many factors can contribute to health beyond just health and safety. By examining social determinants of health we are better able to create social and physical environments that promote the health of everyone – it is necessary for health equity.
SKIP TO STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS
CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership recently developed a new tool to measure social determinants of health using the Personal Outcome Measures® (Friedman, 2019). (More information about the creation of the Social Determinants of Health Index can be found here.) The Social Determinants of Health Index is comprised of three factors:
| Factor 1 Choice and Engagement |
Factor 2 Person-Centeredness |
Factor 3 Health and Safety |
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Analysis of approximately 1,100 interviews with people with disabilities (certified interviews from 2017) indicated the average person had a score of 49.6% of social determinants present. As indicated by the Index, people frequently score higher on Health and Safety, compared to Choice and Engagement, or Person-Centeredness (see Table below).
The Social Determinants of Health Index (n = 1,078)
| Factor 1 Choice and Engagement |
Factor 2 Person-Centeredness |
Factor 3 Health and Safety |
| 40.3% | 50.3% | 69.4% |
Scores for each Social Determinants of Health by Indicator
| Indicator | Choice and Engagement | Person-Centeredness | Health and Safety |
| People interact with other members of the community | 59.6% | ||
| People participate in the life of the community | 45.9% | ||
| People perform different social roles | 36.0% | ||
| People choose where to work | 33.6% | ||
| People choose where and with whom to live | 26.4% | ||
| People exercise rights | 45.3% | ||
| People are treated fairly | 54.1% | ||
| People are respected | 52.3% | ||
| People experience continuity and security | 49.5% | ||
| People have the best possible health | 66.2% | ||
| People are safe | 76.8% |
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH INDEX ANALYSIS IN PORTAL
While the Social Determinants of Health can be calculated by hand, in PORTAL we have included an analytics template that will automatically calculate the Social Determinants of Health Index for agencies. Here is an example of the PORTAL export:
ANALYTICS BY SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH: STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS
- Log in to your PORTAL account
- Click on the 'Analytics' tab at the top of your screen
- Select the 'SURVEYS' analytical tool
- Select the 'VIEWS Dashboard' option
- Select the ‘POM Social Determinants of Health Index’ analytics template.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH SEE THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES:
- Introducing the Social Determinants of Health Index
- Friedman, C. (2019). The social determinants of health index. Manuscript submitted for publication.
- United States Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health
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