In a recent Health Affairs blog, Castrucci and Auerbach suggest that meeting individual social needs falls short of addressing social determinants of health. Physicians’ public health responsibilities and social advocacy are vital to impact the larger determinants of health. We can “prescribe” foods and refer patients to food pantry or meal delivery program but until we address changes in the farm bill, school lunch programs, snap benefits, we might be providing just band-aids to a bigger problem. You can say the same for free clinics and pharmaceutical assistance programs. Our healing instinct will urge us to cover a wound with band-aids, and the system is rigged such that we are continually overwhelmed with the immediate problems that we forget the roots causes of ill health.
Meeting individual social needs vs. addressing social determinants of health
- by thuy bui