Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, and include a range of factors like employment, income and material wealth, education, neighborhood and physical environment, social support networks, as well as access to health care. Immigrants more often than others live in disadvantaged living conditions. Moreover, immigrants in general experience worse health than the host population, with high rates of chronic conditions, including mental health issues, but with large variation between groups. Some studies indicate that social determinants of health play a role in, but not fully explain, poor health among immigrants, but associations between health and social determinants of health among immigrants are not established. The importance of national policies to target social determinants and health among immigrants are called for in many studies.
Targeted interventions to prevent disease and poor health in immigrant populations warrant knowledge of which factors are important to health. This Research Topic aims to elucidate the importance of social determinants for health among immigrants, whether some determinants seem to be more strongly related to health than others, and in which manners they are related to health in this group. We acknowledge that such interactions between social determinants and health may vary with host country setting and with immigrant group, but we aim to give a picture of the importance of social health determinants across immigrant groups in various high-income countries. We are interested in whether socioeconomic conditions can explain differences in health among immigrants and non-immigrants and how social determinants are related to health within immigrant groups. We would also like to highlight examples of, and if possible, effects of, existing policies targeting determinants of immigrant health.
The scope of this topic includes studies (both quantitative and qualitative) assessing associations between social determinants of health and health among immigrant populations in high-income countries. We are especially interested in, but not limited to, chronic health conditions. Determinants of interest include employment, income, education, living conditions, physical/neighborhood environment, host language proficiency and social networks, social support and social cohesion. Moreover, examples of implemented policies in the area are welcomed.
Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, and include a range of factors like employment, income and material wealth, education, neighborhood and physical environment, social support networks, as well as access to health care. Immigrants more often than others live in disadvantaged living conditions. Moreover, immigrants in general experience worse health than the host population, with high rates of chronic conditions, including mental health issues, but with large variation between groups. Some studies indicate that social determinants of health play a role in, but not fully explain, poor health among immigrants, but associations between health and social determinants of health among immigrants are not established. The importance of national policies to target social determinants and health among immigrants are called for in many studies.
Targeted interventions to prevent disease and poor health in immigrant populations warrant knowledge of which factors are important to health. This Research Topic aims to elucidate the importance of social determinants for health among immigrants, whether some determinants seem to be more strongly related to health than others, and in which manners they are related to health in this group. We acknowledge that such interactions between social determinants and health may vary with host country setting and with immigrant group, but we aim to give a picture of the importance of social health determinants across immigrant groups in various high-income countries. We are interested in whether socioeconomic conditions can explain differences in health among immigrants and non-immigrants and how social determinants are related to health within immigrant groups. We would also like to highlight examples of, and if possible, effects of, existing policies targeting determinants of immigrant health.
The scope of this topic includes studies (both quantitative and qualitative) assessing associations between social determinants of health and health among immigrant populations in high-income countries. We are especially interested in, but not limited to, chronic health conditions. Determinants of interest include employment, income, education, living conditions, physical/neighborhood environment, host language proficiency and social networks, social support and social cohesion. Moreover, examples of implemented policies in the area are welcomed.