NCCDPHP’s Approach to Social Determinants of Health

On This Page: Our Approach | Our Role

At CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), our work is deeply rooted in advancing health equity by addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) to reduce barriers and promote health and wellness for all.

Our Approach

Breaking down barriers to health equity by addressing SDOH remains NCCDPHP’s top priority. NCCDPHP aims to address the following five social determinants of health that are strongly tied to chronic disease conditions and communities that are most affected:

Built Environment

Human-made surroundings that influence overall community health and people’s behaviors that drive health.

Community-Clinical Linkages

Connections made between health care, public health, and community organizations to improve population health.

Food and Nutrition Security

Having reliable access to enough high-quality food to avoid hunger and stay healthy.

Social Connectedness

When people or groups have relationships that create a sense of belonging and being cared for, valued, and supported.

Tobacco-Free Policy

Population-based preventive measures to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related illness and death.

Our Role

Addressing SDOH to achieve health equity requires thoughtful collaboration across sectors. NCCDPHP is uniquely positioned to:

Fund wide-reaching approaches and evidence-based programs that can be expanded in many communities to advance health equity.

Conduct research to fill gaps in the evidence base, inform research priorities, and accelerate approaches that are the most promising.

Convene partners from different sectors, such as education, housing, health care, community development, or transportation, to expand proven programs that address SDOH.

Conduct high-quality surveillance and use public health data to identify disparities and find out where programs are needed most.

Learn how NCCDPHP invests in communities to address SDOH.

Learn what centers across CDC are doing to address SDOH.

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