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Analysis
Health Equity thru Analytics (HExA)
Under the microscope: Using data to address social determinants of health
How might one’s reading ability impact health and wellness across their lifetime? How do social networks and community impact chronic condition management? The Deloitte Health Equity Institute's (DHEI) Health Equity thru Analytics (HExA) series aims to answer these questions by connecting various data sources, quantifying relevant associations, and unraveling complex intersectionality. By exploring the correlations between the drivers of health and health outcomes, we can begin to identify solutions and catalyze action to create a more just and equitable health care ecosystem.
Uncovering untold insights with health equity data
The HExA series will look for actionable trends through a quantitative lens by examining relationships between the social determinants of health and health outcomes. The social determinants of health, or what we call the drivers of health, are made up of all the social, environmental, and economic factors that influence health and wellness.
There’s inherent complexity within and between the different drivers of health, which, in combination with unique lived experiences, leads to individual health outcomes. So, the ability to determine causality at population scales, especially with the current state of data, is premature and limited. But by bridging different data sources, quantifying relevant associations by industry, and detangling the complex intersectionality, we can work to identify approachable gaps.
By addressing these gaps through deeper qualitative understanding of the community and environment, inter-industry and community collaboration, and multidisciplinary strategies, we can begin to piece together solutions upstream and at the root. This multilevel method can help us build toward a future where everyone has the fair and just opportunity to achieve their full potential in every aspect of their health and well-being, one analysis at a time.
Our objectives for this series include:
- Deepening the understanding of the drivers of health by putting real-world numbers behind associations
- Clarifying and segmenting analyses to make insights and recommendations actionable
- Sharing knowledge broadly with an invitation to complementary and diverse stakeholders across sectors and industries to develop and act on solutions together
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Quantifying the drivers of health to unravel complexity
Clinical care itself is only one factor that affects a person’s health. Some studies estimate that behavioral, social, economic, and environmental “drivers of health” account for 80% of health outcomes, whether positive or negative.1 These drivers of health include factors such as income, location of residence, and the quality of social support networks.
The drivers of health, as represented in the wheel above, are complex and interconnected. Each one can influence the other drivers, in addition to overall health. The drivers’ effects on health can also accumulate over time.
To learn more about how we can detangle some of the complexity of the drivers of health and health outcomes with actionable insights, explore our health equity data in the pages below. We’ll be releasing new data-rich segments regularly that hopefully provoke conversation and catalyze partnerships that ultimately take action.
Social
- Educational opportunities
- Public and personal safety
- Connection through community relationships and support systems
Economic
- Economic growth and job opportunities
- Wealth accumulation and basic needs
- Secure employment of meaningful work
Environmental
- Food access and security
- Infrastructure such as housing, internet connection, and transportation
- Safe physical environment
Drive meaningful change and equity of care for all
If you’d like to learn more about the health equity data above or discuss how your organization can catalyze action in its own community, let’s set up a conversation.
Get in touch
Endnotes
1 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, “County Health Rankings Model,” accessed April 5, 2021; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Communities in Action (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2017).
