abstract: 'There is considerable scientific and policy interest in reducing

  socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare and health

  status. Currently, much of the policy focus around reducing health

  disparities has been geared toward improving access, coverage, quality,

  and the intensity of healthcare. However, health is more a function of

  lifestyles linked to living and working conditions than of healthcare.

  Accordingly, effective efforts to improve health and reduce gaps in

  health need to pay greater attention to addressing the social

  determinants of health within and outside of the healthcare system. This

  article highlights research evidence documenting that tackling the

  social determinants of health can lead to reductions in health

  disparities. It focuses both on interventions within the healthcare

  system that address some of the social determinants of health and on

  interventions in upstream factors such as housing, neighborhood

  conditions, and increased socioeconomic status that can lead to

  improvements in health. The studies reviewed highlight the importance of

  systematic evaluation of social and economic policies that might have

  health consequences and the need for policy makers, healthcare

  providers, and leaders across multiple sectors of society to apply

  currently available knowledge to improve the underlying conditions that

  impact the health of populations.'
affiliation: 'Williams, DR (Corresponding Author), Harvard Univ, Sch Publ Hlth, Dept
  Soc Human Dev \& Hlth, 677 Huntington Ave,6th Floor, Boston, MA 02115 USA.

  Williams, David R.; Costa, Manuela V.; Odunlami, Adebola O., Harvard Univ, Sch Publ
  Hlth, Dept Soc Human Dev \& Hlth, Boston, MA 02115 USA.

  Mohammed, Selina A., Univ Washington, Nursing Program, Bothell, WA USA.

  Williams, David R., Harvard Univ, Dept African \& African Amer Studies, Cambridge,
  MA 02138 USA.

  Williams, David R., Harvard Univ, Dept Sociol, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.'
author: Williams, David R. and Costa, Manuela V. and Odunlami, Adebola O. and Mohammed,
  Selina A.
author-email: dwilliam@hsph.harvard.edu
author_list:
- family: Williams
  given: David R.
- family: Costa
  given: Manuela V.
- family: Odunlami
  given: Adebola O.
- family: Mohammed
  given: Selina A.
da: '2023-09-28'
eissn: 1550-5022
files: []
issn: 1078-4659
journal: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND PRACTICE
keywords: healthcare; interventions; racial disparities; socioeconomic disparities
keywords-plus: 'EARLY START PROGRAM; LOW-INCOME; RANDOMIZED-TRIAL; PRIMARY-CARE;

  ENVIRONMENT; CHILDREN; POVERTY; PARENTS; IMPACT; POLICY'
language: English
month: NOV
number: S
number-of-cited-references: '45'
pages: S8-S17
papis_id: 04014534e17155890920d6b2b2ebbb4c
ref: Williams2008movingupstream
researcherid-numbers: Williams, David/HKN-3732-2023
times-cited: '305'
title: 'Moving Upstream: How Interventions That Address the Social Determinants of
  Health Can Improve Health and Reduce Disparities'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000260467200004
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '64'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health
year: '2008'