Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity

This issue brief discusses the effort to improve health in the United States, which has traditionally looked to the health care system as the key driver of health and health outcomes. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased opportunities to improve health by expanding access to health coverage and supporting reforms to the health care delivery system. While increasing access to health care and transforming the health care delivery system are important, research demonstrates that improving population health and achieving health equity also will require broader approaches that address social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health.