Upstream vs Downstream Strategies for Addressing Social Determinants of Health

Hi, I'm Jennifer Jones, Population Health Practice Leader at Springbuk. We've been talking a lot about social determinants of health (SDoH). ‍In our last video, I spoke on the five overarching themes related to our communities and the challenges employers face while trying to address them. As we think about how employers can have a more direct impact on social determinants, we use a stream or river analogy, with the upstream being our community-level initiatives. As we move downstream, we focus more on employer-level initiatives that are tailored to the individual and social needs of employees and their families. At this downstream or midstream level, we have much more opportunity for employers to gain traction and impact their member populations. Similar to the five themes of community initiatives, we focus on five key levers that employers can influence, including: Income: such as hourly rates, salary, and retirement contributions Childcare: such as access to affordable childcare and eldercare Access to Healthcare: health equity and affordable health care coverage Housing Instability and Transportation: access to affordable housing, safe housing, and reliable transportation Food Access and Insecurity: access to healthy foods, food insecurity, and food swamps By addressing these levers, employers are poised to directly impact their employees’ lives and the 50+ percent of the factors impacting overall health and health equity. In our next video blog, we'll discuss six data informing strategies using social determinants that Springbuk is evaluating. And if you're interested in learning more about social determinants of health or Springbuk’s perspective, be sure to download the e-book "Social Determinants of Health" at https://bit.ly/3ruAVla. For more information, visit https://www.springbuk.com/sdoh