ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2015
Social determinants of health inequalities: towards a theoretical perspective using systems science.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- The complexity of inequity: rethinking global health through lived experience, power, and structural vulnerability.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Global Trends in Adolescent Health Inequalities and Their Social Determinants: A Bibliometric and Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Rural-urban disparities in child nutrition in Tabora, Tanzania: a socioeconomic decomposition and implications for food security policy.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- A conceptual system dynamics model of social determinants of health (SDoH) and its impact on population health.Journal of public health research · 2025Article
- The association between total social exposure and incident multimorbidity: A population-based cohort study.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Analysis of how a complex systems perspective is applied in studies on socioeconomic inequalities in health and health behaviour-a call for reporting guidelines.Health research policy and systems · 2024Article
- Thinking about inequalities in physical activity as an emergent feature of complex systems.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
- Article
- What set some young adults apart during the COVID-19 pandemic? Mental health trajectories, risk and protective factors in an Australian longitudinal study.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
- The Role of Social Determinants of Health in Promoting Health Equality: A Narrative Review.Cureus · 2023Review
- Vulnerable populations during COVID-19 response: Health-related quality of life among Chinese population and its influence due to socio-demographic factors and loneliness.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Scoping Review: Suicide Specific Intervention Programmes for People Experiencing Homelessness.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Implementation science should give higher priority to health equity.Implementation science : IS · 2021Article
- Advancing health equity by addressing social determinants of health: Using health data to improve educational outcomes.PloS one · 2021Article
- Reimagining Public Health in the Aftermath of a Pandemic.American journal of public health · 2020Article
- Impact of sugar-sweetened beverage tax on dental caries: a simulation analysis.BMC oral health · 2020Article
- Boundary-spanning actors in complex adaptive governance systems: The case of multisectoral nutrition.The International journal of health planning and management · 2018Article
- Developing a Social Determinants of Learning™ Framework: A Case Study.Nursing education perspectivesArticle
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
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Abstract
A systems approach offers a novel conceptualization to natural and social systems. In recent years, this has led to perceiving population health outcomes as an emergent property of a dynamic and open, complex adaptive system. The current paper explores these themes further and applies the principles of systems approach and complexity science (i.e. systems science) to conceptualize social determinants of health inequalities. The conceptualization can be done in two steps: viewing health inequalities from a systems approach and extending it to include complexity science. Systems approach views health inequalities as patterns within the larger rubric of other facets of the human condition, such as educational outcomes and economic development. This anlysis requires more sophisticated models such as systems dynamic models. An extension of the approach is to view systems as complex adaptive systems, i.e. systems that are 'open' and adapt to the environment. They consist of dynamic adapting subsystems that exhibit non-linear interactions, while being 'open' to a similarly dynamic environment of interconnected systems. They exhibit emergent properties that cannot be estimated with precision by using the known interactions among its components (such as economic development, political freedom, health system, culture etc.). Different combinations of the same bundle of factors or determinants give rise to similar patterns or outcomes (i.e. property of convergence), and minor variations in the initial condition could give rise to widely divergent outcomes. Novel approaches using computer simulation models (e.g. agent-based models) would shed light on possible mechanisms as to how factors or determinants interact and lead to emergent patterns of health inequalities of populations.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.