Genetics and traditional risk factors such as activity, diet, and tobacco use cannot reliably predict whether we stay healthy or become ill. What then are the primary predictors of adult-onset diabetes, heart attacks, stroke, and many other diseases? The social determinants of health provide the answer: these are the socio-economic conditions that shape the health of individuals, communities, and jurisdictions as a whole. Social determinants establish the extent to which Canadians possess the resources to identify and achieve personal aspirations, satisfy needs, and cope with the environment. This perspective is the key to understanding patterns of health and illness in Canada today. Uniting top academics and high profile experts from across the country, this contributed volume is a unique undertaking that combines analysis of the current state of the social determinants of health, with explication of their effects. The contributions take a public policy approach that sees the mainsprings of health emerging from the social distribution of resources. The collection as a whole integrates insights from the health sciences, the sociology of health, and the political economy of health. --- from the publisher Contents: Foreword to the Second Edition
The Honourable Carolyn Bennett Foreword to the First Edition
The Honourable Roy J. Romanow Preface A Note from the Publisher Part One: Introducing the Social Determinants of Health
Chapter 1: Social Determinants of Health: An Overview of Key Issues and Themes
Dennis Raphael
Chapter 2: Social Structure, Living Conditions, and Health
Dennis Raphael Part Two: Income Security and Employment in Canada
Chapter 3: When Economic Growth Doesn’t Trickle Down: The Wage Dimensions of Income Polarization
Ann Curry-Stevens
Chapter 4: Income, Income Distribution, and Health in Canada
Nathalie Auger and Carolyne Alix
Chapter 5: Precarious Work and the Labour Market
Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay
Chapter 6: Labour Market Flexibility and Worker Insecurity
Emile Tompa, Michael Polanyi, and Janice Foley
Chapter 7: The Unhealthy Canadian Workplace
Andrew Jackson
Chapter 8: Understanding and Improving the Health of Work
Peter Smith and Michael Polanyi Part Three: Foundations of Lifelong Health: Education
Chapter 9: Early Childhood Education and Care as Social Determinants of Health
Martha Friendly
Chapter 10: Early Childhood and Health
Brenda L. Smith-Chant
Chapter 11: The State and Quality of Canadian Public Elementary and Secondary Education
Charles Ungerleider, Tracey Burns, and Fernando Cartwright
Chapter 12: Literacy and Health Literacy: New Understandings about Their Impact on Health
Barbara Ronson and Irving Rootman Part Four: Foundations of Lifelong Health: Food and Shelter
Chapter 13: Food Insecurity
Lynn McIntyre and Krista Rondeau
Chapter 14: Health Implications of Food Insecurity
Valerie Tarasuk
Chapter 15: Housing
Michael Shapcott
Chapter 16: Housing and Health: More Than Bricks and Mortar
Toba Bryant Part Five: Social Exclusion
Chapter 17: Social Exclusion
Grace-Edward Galabuzi
Chapter 18: Social Inclusion/Exclusion and Health: Dancing the Dialectic
Ronald Labonte
Chapter 19: The Health of Aboriginal Peoples
Janet Smylie Part Six: Public Policy
Chapter 20: Follow the Money: How Business and Politics Define Our Health
David Langille
Chapter 21: Health and Health Care: A Human Rights Perspective
Elizabeth McGibbon
Chapter 22: Public Policy and the Welfare State
Lars K. Hallstrom
Chapter 23: Public Policy, Gender, and Health
Pat Armstrong
Chapter 24: Surmounting the Barriers: Making Action on the Social Determinants of Health a Public Policy Priority
Dennis Raphael and Ann Curry-Stevens Appendix: Strengthening the Social Determinants of Health: The Toronto Charter for a Healthy Canada References Contributors’ Biographies Index
Features
• provides broader presentations of theoretical frameworks with more emphasis on how the social determinants of health influence health
• examines the role of public policy in shaping the social determinants of health and the economic and political forces that shape these public policy decisions
• includes new chapters on Aboriginal health, early childhood and health, health services, and the social safety net in Canada
•presents added learning tools, such as chapter-opening objectives and chapter-closing critical thinking questions, in addition to recommended readings and websites for each chapter
• demonstrates greater emphasis on constructive and concrete solutions as well as barriers to such actions
Reviewers
“Social Determinants of Health provides a rich companion to our work on health care and a useful springboard for integrated healthy public policy. Dr. Raphael has gathered together some of the Canada’s important thinkers on the key determinants.” — The Hon. Roy J. Romanow, PC “[Social Determinants of Health] may not be light summer reading for the cottage or the beach, but it does shed a lot of light on the way we live now as Canadians...it’s a collection of research and observations by academics and leading-edge thinkers (a whole new community, in a way, formed around this issue) about how social determinants of health play out in Canadian life. Raphael’s book explores how recognized social determinants impact on health and well-being in Canada in the context of what exists ‘on the ground’—how theory translates into real life. If a book can walk the walk as well as talk the talk, this one does. It’s a significant resource for teachers, students, and researchers. But it’s also a useful, important, and eye-opening reminder for all of us about how our political and societal choices determine the health—literally, the extent of illness, disease, disability, medical costs—of Canadians.”
Judy Gerstel, The Toronto Star “This book makes a highly significant contribution to the field of Public Health in Canada. Aside from being well-researched and well-written, a major strength of the book is its focus on identifying clear policy directions to improve the health of Canadians by influencing each of the social determinants. Raphael’s book is essential reading for university students, practitioners, program managers, and policy-makers in all of the human service sectors.”
Benita Cohen, University of Manitoba “We finally have a Canadian book that we can refer to, in order to assist in ‘making the case’ for a population health approach. This book does not shy away from the ‘tough questions’ of politics and social policy. It’s quite hard hitting at times. That’s a real positive.”
Victoria Barr, University of Victoria “The book is very accessible to general/non-specialist audiences. My students commended the book for its accessibility and coherence. This volume is straightforward, easy to read, accessible to undergraduate students. Canadian content is also hugely important.”
Alan Davidson, University of British Columbia | 
