When I was in school we learned about the conditions of the places where people live, learn, work, and play; conditions that either support or hinder health and well-being. They are known as the “social determinants of health” (SDOH).

For many years, even as a professional, I conceptualized these conditions as something external, outside of us— something that we were simply “at the mercy off”.

This may seem obvious, but it didn’t occur to me until recently that it is actually “us” (you, me, we!) who are co-creating these “conditions”, because we are the ones who decide how our homes, schools, institutions, and communities are “operated”. We are the ones who create humane practices, policies, institutions, or not

Accordingly, there’s “no-thing” or “no-one” external can make our communities better for us, without us; without our awareness, involvement, desire, and concern for improving the quality of our lives and those of others. We ARE the social determinants of health.