Meanings and Misunderstandings: A Social Determinants of Health Lexicon for Health Care Systems

Abstract

Policy Points Health care systems and policymakers in the United States increasingly use language related to social determinants of health in their strategies to improve health and control costs, but the terms used are often misunderstood, conflated, and confused. Greater clarity on key terms and the concepts underlying them could advance policies and practices related to social determinants of health—including by defining appropriate roles and limits of the health care sector in this multisector field.