Abstract
Purpose of the review: Environmental and social determinants of health often co-occur, particularly among socially disadvantaged populations, yet because they are usually studied separately, their joint effects on health are likely underestimated. Building on converging bodies of literature, we delineate a conceptual framework to address these issues. Recent findings: Previous models provided a foundation for study in this area, and generated research pointing to additional important issues. These include a stronger focus on biobehavioral pathways, both positive and adverse health outcomes, and intergenerational effects. To accommodate the expanded set of issues, we put forward the Integrated Socio-Environmental Model of Health and Well-Being (ISEM), which examines how social and environmental factors combine and potentially interact, via multi-factorial pathways, to affect health and well-being over the life span. We then provide applied examples including the study of how food environments affect dietary behavior. Summary: The ISEM provides a comprehensive, theoretically informed framework to guide future research on the joint contribution of social and environmental factors to health and well-being across the life span.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 233-243 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Current Environmental Health Reports |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2018 |
Funding
This work was funded by the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program granted by The JPB Foundation and managed by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The authors thank the JPB fellows for the helpful discussion in developing the ideas put forward here. The authors also thank Nicolle Tulve (EPA), Rachel Morello-Frosch (UC-Berkeley), Madeleine Scammell (Boston University), and Jose Ricardo Suarez (SDSU) for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was funded by the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program granted by The JPB Foundation and managed by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The authors thank the JPB fellows for the helpful discussion in developing the ideas put forward here. The authors also thank Nicolle Tulve (EPA), Rachel Morello-Frosch (UC-Berkeley), Madeleine Scammell (Boston University), and Jose Ricardo Suarez (SDSU) for their helpful comments on the manuscript.
| Funders |
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| Boston University |
Keywords
- Cumulative exposures
- Health disparities
- Life course
- Social determinants
- Total environment
