14 Social Determinants of Health

Lasting Impacts of Social Policies

Examining our communities today requires understanding how we got here. Why? Because our work encompasses various subtypes of social supports. These supports change and differ across place and time because those who rely on such supports have differing degrees of access and barriers to the interconnected resources across communities. An illustrative example are the social determinants of health. These are the environmental, non-medical conditions that affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes.

In other words, we need to understand how these larger systems and injustices intersect and impact life itself. When we know this and can identify various factors, we can collectively work towards health equity. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) defines it as follows: “Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care.^[1]”

View this video to learn more about the social determinants of health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UK7NrHOsmA&embeds_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fhealth.gov&feature=emb_imp_woyt

How have these social determinants of health intersected in Virginia? This five page report from The Commonwealth Institute examines the legacy of racist policies on Virginia public schools today.

Policy and Family: The Intersection

Virginia saw an increased level of support and need for systems-level change to support the diverse families across the Commonwealth in recent years. Some of the policies passed and political initiatives toward this end include:

• A 2021 task force was established by Governor Northam’s office to provide guidance on culturally responsive calendars and meals. Then secretary of education, Atif Qarni, released a public statement regarding recognition of dates, “such as Eid al-Fitr, Ash Wednesday, Lunar New Year, Yom Kippur, Diwali, and other days that may not be acknowledged on school calendars but bear significant cultural importance to many students in our classrooms.”
• In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly passed state bill 1196, requiring educators to receive ongoing professional learning about, and be evaluated on, cultural competency.
• The Virginia Department of Education elevated the Office of Equity, moving forward several tools, resources, and policy guidance during the same gubernatorial administration. While the Youngkin administration removed all of these efforts, the Virginia Education Association now houses them for public use and engages educators in professional learning on these topics.

We also acknowledge that many policies change as elected officials’ agendas change. Some policies create additional barriers and challenges while others are de-prioritized. There is a great deal of work to do and you may be motivated to serve families not only at an individual or building level, but at a local and state policy level. We explore advocacy strategies in greater detail in chapter seven.