December 2014

Overview

A range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors contribute to individual and population health. For example, people with quality education, stable employment, safe homes and neighborhoods, and access to preventive services tend to be healthier throughout their lives.¹ Understanding the underlying issues that impact a community or individual can be a critical step in improving health and health outcomes. Education systems, health programs, and community organizations from across all sectors can play a part in addressing these underlying factors of health.

Education, a leading social determinant, is key to improving the health of the nation. The Healthy People 2020 Social Determinants Leading Health Indicator topic covers education, as well as other underlying factors that impact health, such as access to health services and the quality of those services.

Learn More About Social Determinants

Leading Health Indicators

Leading Health Indicators (LHI) are critical health issues that – if tackled appropriately – will dramatically reduce the leading causes of death and preventable illnesses. The Social Determinants LHI is:

• Students who graduate with a regular diploma 4 years after starting 9th grade (AH-5.1)

Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going

On-time graduation rates in public schools, measured as students awarded a high school diploma 4 years after starting 9th grade, have increased by 8%, from 75% in 2007–08 to 81% in 2011–12, moving toward the HP2020 target of 82%. However, disparities in on-time graduation by race/ethnicity remain.

Although an education measure is the Leading Health Indicator for this topic, many Healthy People 2020 objectives address social determinants to improve population health. Healthy People 2020 organizes the social determinants of health around 5 key domains:

• Economic Stability
• Education
• Health and Health Care
• Neighborhood and Built Environment
• Social and Community Context

To learn more about the social determinants of health, explore our new collection of resources.

Who’s Leading the Leading Health Indicators?

NeighborhoodHELP™ Engages Underserved Communities to Increase Health Care Access

Miami-Dade County, Florida, ranks 61st out of 67 counties in Florida in health outcomes.² Miami-Dade County has a large minority population, with 19% African-American and 65.6% Hispanic or Latino residents. In addition, Miami-Dade County has some of the highest rates of uninsured populations in America, with almost 40% of the population uninsured in some neighborhoods.^{3, 4}

Given the complex needs of uninsured and low-income residents in Miami-Dade County, Florida International University (FIU) implemented the Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program (NeighborhoodHELP™) in 2010. The program engages underserved communities to increase access to health care and improve outcomes. It emphasizes learning about and addressing the social determinants of health to improve the well-being of underserved persons.

Read the Full Story

Leading Health Indicator Infographic

Related Resources

Social Determinants of Health Topic Area, Healthy People 2020 Social Determinants of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Press Release: Higher education and income levels keys to better health, according to annual report on nation's health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nursing in 3D: Workforce Diversity, Health Disparities, and Social Determinants of Health, Public Health Reports Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization A New Way to Talk About the Social Determinants of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Healthy People serves as the foundation for prevention efforts across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

¹ National Prevention Council, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Prevention Strategy. Washington, DC: 2011. Available from: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/initiatives/prevention/strategy/report.pdf..

² University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. County Health Rankings 2010.

³ http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12086.html

⁴ http://www.fiu.edu/research/newsroom/2011/neighborhood-help.html

Reference in this bulletin to any specific product, process, service, organization, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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