School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
College of Medicine and Medical Education Center, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
Med Teach. 2024 Mar;46(3):304-316. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2023.2254920. Epub 2023 Sep 7.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) as the non-medical factors influencing health outcomes. SDOH is associated with conditions in which people are born, grow, work, and live. Medical schools and licensing bodies are increasingly recognizing the need for doctors and healthcare professionals to be aware of their patient's social context and how it impacts their states of health and disease. However, there is considerable variation in the approaches of different institutions and countries to incorporating SDOH into their curricula. In order to allow clinicians to adopt a holistic approach to patient health, equipping them with extensive knowledge of SDOH would give learners the confidence, skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to effectively engage with patients and their families. This approach aids health professionals with knowledge of the influence of the social context and cultural factors that affect patients' behaviors in relation to health. Incorporating the SDOH in medical and health professional school curricula would contribute towards adequately preparing future healthcare practitioners to provide effective, comprehensive, and equitable care, especially to marginalized and underserved populations. The Guide will take an evidence-based approach grounded in the available contemporary literature and case studies. The focus will be on integrating SDOH into undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula to promote an understanding of the social factors that influence patients' and communities' health. Ultimately, this guide seeks to contribute to the reduction of inequalities in health.
世界卫生组织（WHO）将影响健康结果的非医疗因素定义为健康的社会决定因素（SDOH）。SDOH 与人们出生、成长、工作和生活的条件有关。医学院校和发证机构越来越认识到，医生和医疗保健专业人员需要了解患者的社会背景以及其对健康状况和疾病的影响。然而，不同机构和国家将 SDOH 纳入其课程的方法存在相当大的差异。为了使临床医生能够对患者的健康采取整体方法，为他们提供广泛的 SDOH 知识，将使学习者具备与患者及其家属有效接触所需的信心、技能、知识和态度。这种方法使卫生专业人员了解社会背景和文化因素对患者健康行为的影响。将 SDOH 纳入医学和卫生专业学校课程将有助于为未来的医疗保健从业者做好充分准备，以提供有效、全面和公平的护理，特别是为边缘化和服务不足的人群。该指南将采取基于现有当代文献和案例研究的循证方法。重点将放在将 SDOH 融入本科和研究生医学课程中，以促进对影响患者和社区健康的社会因素的理解。最终，本指南旨在有助于减少健康方面的不平等。
