Re: If social determinants of health are so important, shouldn’t we ask patients about them?
Dear Editor,
I was surprised to see that information about determinants of health is not part of the normal case history for patients in the UK.
I published my first paper on this topic in March 1972 at the annual communicable disease conference (DHEW publication number (HSM) 73 – 8172) when I and my staff examined infectious disease differences by socio-economic areas within the city. The decennial publications on Health, United States for the last 40 years have refined social determinants of health repeatedly. I believe most practitioners in the US are familiar with this. I have taught about the importance of the subject in my classes on public health in our medical schoolfor the last 30 years.
Competing interests:
No competing interests
11 December 2020
Christopher M. Buttery
Clinical Professor
Derpartment of Family Medicine, Division of Epidemiology,Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. USA
Rapid Response:
Re: If social determinants of health are so important, shouldn’t we ask patients about them?
Dear Editor,
I was surprised to see that information about determinants of health is not part of the normal case history for patients in the UK.
I published my first paper on this topic in March 1972 at the annual communicable disease conference (DHEW publication number (HSM) 73 – 8172) when I and my staff examined infectious disease differences by socio-economic areas within the city. The decennial publications on Health, United States for the last 40 years have refined social determinants of health repeatedly. I believe most practitioners in the US are familiar with this. I have taught about the importance of the subject in my classes on public health in our medical schoolfor the last 30 years.
Competing interests: No competing interests