Do Social and Economic Policies Influence Health? A Review

Abstract

Although social and economic policies are not con- sidered part of health services infrastructure, such policies may influence health and disease by altering social determi- nants of health (SDH).We review social and economic poli- cies in the USA that have measured health outcomes among adults in four domains of SDH including housing and neigh- borhood, employment, family strengthening/marriage, and income supplementation. Themajority of these policies target low-income populations. These social policies rarely consider health as their initial mission or outcomes. When measuring health, the programs document mental health and physical health benefits more than half the time, although some effects fade with time. We also find considerable segregation of program eligibility by gender and family composition. Policy makers should design future social policies to evaluate health outcomes using validated health measures; to target women more broadly across the socioeconomic spectrum; and to consider family caregiving responsibilities, as ignoring them can have unintended health effects.