Definition
The range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors which determine the health status of individuals or populations (Nutbeam, 1998).
Description
Historical Context and Significance
By the 1970s, the importance of medical care as an influence on health status was beginning to be questioned (Lalonde, 1974; McKeown & Record, 1962; Whitehead, 1992). While initial responses focused on individual responsibility to engage in a healthy lifestyle, by the 1980s a growing body of research showed that the health of individuals and populations is determined by a complex set of factors. These factors became labeled as “determinants of health” and were a key component of the “population health” approach (Evans, Barer, & Marmor, 1994) that arose in the 1990s. Attention quickly became focused on the important subset of determinants that are socially produced and therefore modifiable. This...
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References
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Muhajarine, N. (2014). Health Determinants. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1246
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1246
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