Class 2: The Social Determinants of Health & Legal Health
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1. What is the connection between the social determinants of health and legal health?
Improving legal health can improve overall health, but what is less obvious is why this happens. The answer to this lies in the social determinants of health.
The social determinants of health are the non-medical factors that have an influence over health outcomes – things like income, housing, job security, social inclusion, and discrimination – that make up the environments where people live, learn, work, and play.
Legal problems and social determinants problems are two sides of the same coin. For example, Omar was denied disability benefits. Being denied disability benefits is a legal problem, and is also a social determinants problem for income.
Language and framing are important. Social determinants problems can seem daunting and complex, without obvious solutions. Legal problems, however, have solutions. And, by working to resolve legal problems, we aim to improve the related social determinants of health, which can in turn enhance overall health and health equity.
2. How can you start to solve legal problems?
Most people need professional help to solve their legal problems, and lawyers can be expensive. However, Ontario's legal clinics can help people living on a low income for free with problems in many areas overlapping with the social determinants, including housing,government benefits, employment, human rights, contracts and debt, and wills and incapacity.
Legal clinics are non-profit legal centres located throughout Ontario that provide free advice, assistance and representation to people living on a low income.
Legal clinics would be happy to help your low income patients with legal problems - you just have to get your patient connected (and, continue on to Module 2 for specific information about how to do this).
3. What you can do (Action Step)
Start with simply bringing awareness to what you're already doing. How often do you suspect or know that a social determinants issue is contributing to your patient's medical issue? And, what do you currently do about it?
Then, keep watching this course. It will show you when and how you can intervene for positive change.