Creating Knowledge Base for Social Factors Affecting Health in Health Services Research
In December 2003, the journal Health Services Research published a supplemental issue designed to educate researchers on a range of social and other non-medical factors that influence health, including social and economic status, ethnicity and race.
The journal is published by the Health Research and Educational Trust, a non-profit research and education organization affiliated with the American Hospital Association. Health Services Research is also an official journal of AcademyHealth, a professional organization of researchers in the health services field.
Key Results
The 297-page Supplement is designed to educate researchers from a variety of fields on how non-medical factors, such as socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity affect health.
Among the topics addressed in the supplement were:
- Socioeconomic status and low birth weight.
- Social determinants of tooth loss.
- Income inequality and depression.
- Racial differences in aftercare following colorectal cancer surgery.