From Investing in What Works for America's Communities
Adler discusses the role of the social determinants of health, saying it is time to test the link between community development and health outcomes. For this we need data, and for data to be meaningful, we need agreement on data measures and on protocols for research (including dealing with controls). Cost can be reduced through use of existing data bases, bio markets, risk factors; these can also help overcome the problem that community development outcomes seem to take a long time to become apparent. A helpful measure of the effect of community development may be a commonly asked survey question: "How would you rate your health relative to others your age?"
Author: Nancy E. Adler, University of California, San Francisco
Date of Publication: August, 2012
Last Updated: August, 2012