Slippery Logic

What do all of us human beings need to live happy, healthy, productive lives? Seems almost like asking what is the meaning of life, except we actually now have a pretty good idea of the answer to the first question. These needs are what have been called the Social Determinants of Health and include housing, income, food security, physical and social environments that are supportive and safe, education, early childhood development, etc. For more information on the SDOH please see http://thecanadianfacts.org. These determine the health of our communities, our families, our society as a whole. Seems fairly straight forward really. So, where does this slippery logic come in?

I read a quote by Michael Shapcott today that said "A good home is vital to personal health and is essential to improving the overall health of the population.", and it reminded me of some conversations I have had where someone has provided examples of individuals they know of that don't have a good home or who live in poverty, but yet are healthy and have a good life, so how can we make the case that a good home is vital to personal health or a determinant of health when it isn't true for everyone? Here is the slippery logic that more often than not leads to focusing on individual health and individual responsibility. When we are talking about the determinants of health we are talking about a population, not specific individuals. Of course there will be individuals who are outliers and may still be able to do well and overcome in poor housing or with food insecurity, but these individuals are the outliers, not the average. Perhaps their story would provide valuable information about resiliency and success in the face of deprivation, however deprivation impacts across a population and the most effective ways to improve the health of an entire population is to create environments that enable all individuals equitable access to the determinants of health.

It is all connected and the more we make these connections the easier it will be to make positive and equitable changes for all of us.