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Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Federal Programs

This webpage includes three documents ASPE is posting in support of the Department’s strategic approach to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH). SDOH are the conditions where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes.

This release includes three documents that: (1) explain why HHS has identified addressing SDOH as a major priority for the Department; (2) describe HHS’ strategic approach, and specific actions the Department is taking to address SDOH; and (3) link how these actions build on evidence in the field on what works.

The first document is an essay in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Health Forum that describes HHS’ three-pronged strategy to address SDOH through: (1) enhancing data infrastructure; (2) improving connections between health and social service providers; and (3) engaging in whole-of-government collaborations to implement comprehensive solutions.

Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Federal Programs

The second document is a supplemental two-page summary and infographic that summarizes the HHS SDOH strategic approach.

SDOH Action Plan At a Glance

The third document is a review of the evidence on interventions that have been implemented to address social determinants of health and describes illustrative HHS agency actions.

Addressing Social Determinants of Health: Examples of Successful Evidence-Based Strategies and Current Federal Efforts