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Social and Political Determinants of Health and Mental Health

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Textbook of Community Psychiatry

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Abstract

When considering community psychiatry in the modern era, one cannot begin to contemplate mental health disparities and inequities without accounting for the social determinants of mental health such as economic stability, the built environment, education, social and community context, and access to health care. While not distinctly different from the social determinants of health, the social determinants of mental health deserve special emphasis because they may lead more robustly to poor mental health outcomes and mental health inequities seen in society. The political determinants of health describe public policies which influence relationship structures, resource distribution, and the administration of power. This chapter discusses the importance of the social determinants of mental health, presents evidence highlighting specific social determinants, and identifies intervention points specific to discrimination and racism, adverse early life experiences, and addressing social norms which lead to harmful policies, in order to illustrate how community psychiatrists can combat structural racism. Addressing the social and political determinants of mental health will empower the community psychiatrist to impact their clinical environment for more equitable and improved mental health outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Services, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Ruth S. Shim

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Monica Taylor-Desir

Authors
  1. Ruth S. Shim
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  2. Monica Taylor-Desir
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruth S. Shim .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Wesley E. Sowers

  2. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine | NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA

    Hunter L. McQuistion

  3. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA

    Jules M. Ranz

  4. Professor Emerita of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Jacqueline Maus Feldman

  5. Vice Chair/Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Ohio, OH, USA

    Patrick S. Runnels

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Shim, R.S., Taylor-Desir, M. (2022). Social and Political Determinants of Health and Mental Health. In: Sowers, W.E., McQuistion, H.L., Ranz, J.M., Feldman, J.M., Runnels, P.S. (eds) Textbook of Community Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10239-4_29

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