The social determinants of health: A toolkit for collaboration
The Association of Academic Health Centers’ (AAHC) “Toolkit for Collaboration” is a website comprised of reports and resources for academic health centers (AHCs) to assess and enhance their ability to address social determinants of health. The toolkit includes: a report synthesizing the challenges and opportunities for AHCs to address social determinants of health; a scorecard for member organizations to assess their current efforts; AAHC meeting minutes; and a series of interviews exemplifying cross-sectoral approaches to improving health.
The toolkit is part of the AAHC’s Social Determinants of Health Initiative that seeks to improve academic health centers’ ability to respond to social determinants of health in their education, research, and clinical programs. Acknowledging that academic health centers have traditionally focused on medical care, AAHC’s “Toolkit for Collaboration” is a response to the growing interest in strengthening academic health center leadership to “further develop approaches to individual and population health that include underlying social determinants.” As institutions that educate new medical professionals, operate a range of health facilities, and lead in medical research, AHCs are “uniquely positioned to have a significant and positive impact on the determinants of health and the health of their communities.”
A key component of the toolkit is a consensus document synthesizing discussions held at an AAHC conference in 2014. The report “identifies challenges and barriers to addressing social determinants of health, proposes a variety of responses and solutions, and focuses in particular on the role of academic health centers working in collaboration with other stakeholders.” To access and read the full report, click here.
For more information about the structure and work of the Association of Academic Health Centers, click here.
Use this resource to:
- Assess how your organization is addressing environmental and social factors that affect health
- Find tools to help promote the importance of working to improve the environments that determine health
- Learn about the preoccupations, and the achievements, of other organizations that want to move further upstream in their health care work
Reference:
Association of Academic Health Centers. (2010-2014). Association of Academic Health Centers and the Determinants of Health: A Toolkit for Collaboration. Retrieved from wherehealthbegins.org.
Link where full text can be located (English)
www.wherehealthbegins.org/index.php
Other documents that should be linked to this document
“Academic Health Centers and the Social Determinants of Health: Challenges & Barriers, Responses & Solutions" www.wherehealthbegins.org/pdf/AAHC-SDOH-Report-Final.pdf
Tags: Competencies & organizational standards, Evaluation, Healthy public policy, Intersectoral action, Leadership & capacity building, Methods & tools, Participate in policy development