In the US, the field of public health is undergoing a paradigmatic shift—moving from a focus on individual health behaviors to a “social ecological” approach. The latter recognizes that individual experiences and choices related to health are often determined by factors beyond the individual, such as environment, policy, or culture. The social ecological model (right) helps visualize this fact by identifying individual health within its broad contexts. The model also helps illuminates why there are such disparities in health outcomes across geographic, racial, gender, and economic differences. These result from disparities in culture, policies, community histories and opportunities, etc.
The recognition of how these social determinants affect our health has led to increased efforts to advance health equity—ensuring that all people have “a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.” Making change at the outer levels of the social ecological model is no small undertaking. It presents an ideal opportunity to establish new arts+health partnerships, bringing greater creativity, innovation, and inclusion to public health’s efforts. After all, the social determinants of health are the result not of natural, cause-effect imperatives, but of our collective histories, powers, assumptions, hierarchies, perceptions, norms. The constructed nature of our inequitable context means it can be rebuilt. (author abstract) #P4HEsummit2022