Attitudes on Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health

Two areas in which the health care vertical of our firm has conducted research over the last few years are health equity and social determinants of health.

Please find a slide deck that contains research that our firm has conducted over the past five years on both topics. Additionally, we have incorporated some other publicly available data.

This compilation of survey research shows:

  • Americans Largely Believe Health Equity Should Be a Priority: Fully 93% of Americans agree with the goal of health equity when they are presented with it and 71% think achieving health equity should be a top or high priority for the U.S.
  • Americans Support the Goals of Addressing Social Determinants of Health: Despite a lack of familiarity with social determinants of health, a large majority of Americans recognize healthy food, shelter, heat, electricity, clothing, and transportation as essential health needs.
  • Americans Support Using Tax Dollars to Address Social Determinants of Health and Believe These Efforts Should Be Led by Local Officials: More than three-quarters of Americans favor spending tax dollars on programs designed to address social determinants of health. Further, Americans believe social workers, community health workers/centers and local health officials should be responsible for connecting patients with services to improve their social and environmental conditions.
  • Physicians Recognize the Importance of Addressing Social Determinants of Health: Fully 80% of physicians agree that the U.S. cannot improve health outcomes or reduce health care costs without addressing social determinants of health.
Public Opinion Strategies