Eating the right kinds of food plays a major role in an individual’s health. Eating healthy foods is correlated with a lower risk of developing chronic health conditions. Therefore, factors that prevent one’s access to healthy foods is a barrier to good health. Barriers to healthy foods include transportation, food deserts, and income. For example, not having access to transportation to get to the grocery store represents a barrier when it comes to access to healthy foods. 

Access to healthy foods

The environmental conditions of one’s neighborhood and residential building affect one’s health in many ways. Environmental conditions include air and water quality, pollution, housing, and one’s access to green space.  

Environmental Conditions of Neighborhood


- Access to healthy foods
- Environmental conditions of neighborhood

Saint Louis University

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are social and economic factors that influence health outcomes. These factors play a significant role in the wide health disparities observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social determinants of health are categorized into five crucial determinants:

- Health and health care
- Social and community context
- Neighborhood and built environment
- Education
- Economic stability

These five determinants are interrelated and can be considered as a cycle of events, where a determinant can be a cause or effect of another determinant. 

Effect of Social Determinants of Health on Disparate Health Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States 

Singu S, Acharya A, Challagundla K and Byrareddy SN. (2020). Impact of
Social Determinants of Health on the Emerging COVID-19 Pandemic in the
United States. Frontiers in Public Health 8:406.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00406
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7385373/

Impact of Social Determinants of Health on the Emerging COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

- Health literacy
- Access to health care and primary care 


Health and Health care as a Social Determinant of Health

- Discrimination
- Community involvement and social cohesion

Social and Community Context as a Social Determinant of Health

Neighborhood and Built Environment as a Social Determinant of Health

- High School Graduation
- Language and English Literacy


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