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Since the 2008 publication of the reports of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health and its nine knowledge networks, substantial research has been undertaken to document and describe health inequities. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for a deeper understanding of, and broader action on, the social determinants of health. Building on this unique and critical opportunity, the World Health Organization is steering a multi-country Initiative to reduce health inequities through an action-learning process in 'Pathfinder' countries. The Initiative aims to develop replicable and reliable models and practices that can be adopted by WHO offices and UN staff to address the social determinants of health to advance health equity. This paper provides an overview of the Initiative by describing its broad theory of change and work undertaken in three regions and six Pathfinder countries in its first year-and-a-half. Participants engaged in the Initiative describe results of early country dialogues and promising entry points for implementation that involve model, network and capacity building. The insights communicated through this note from the field will be of interest for others aiming to advance health equity through taking action on the social determinants of health, in particular as regards structural determinants., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Life expectancy initially improves rapidly with economic development but then tails off. Yet, at any level of economic development, some countries do better, and some worse, than expected - they either punch above or below their weight. Why this is the case has been previously researched but no full explanation of the complexity of this phenomenon is available., New Research Network: In order to advance understanding, the newly formed Punching Above Their Weight Research Network has developed a model to frame future research. It provides for consideration of the following influences within a country: political and institutional context and history; economic and social policies; scope for democratic participation; extent of health promoting policies affecting socio-economic inequities; gender roles and power dynamics; the extent of civil society activity and disease burdens., Conclusion: Further research using this framework has considerable potential to advance effective policies to advance health and equity.

Health in All Policies approaches support the integration of health considerations into the policies of traditionally siloed governance systems. These siloed systems are often ignorant of the fact that health is created outside of the health system and starts long before you see a health professional. Thus, the purpose of Health in All Policies approaches is to raise the importance of the broad‐based impacts on health from these public policies and to implement healthy public policy that delivers human rights for all. This approach requires significant adjustments to current economic and social policy settings. A well‐being economy similarly aspires to create policy incentives that increase the importance of social and non‐monetized outcomes, such as increased social cohesion environmental sustainability and health. These outcomes can evolve deliberately alongside economic benefits and are impacted by economic and market activities. The principles and functions underpinning Health in All Policies approaches, such as joined‐up policy making can be helpful to transition towards a well‐being economy. Governments will need to move beyond the currently held principle of "economic growth and profit above all else" if countries are to tackle growing societal inequity and catastrophic climate changes. Rapid digitization and globalization have further entrenched the focus on monetary economic outcomes rather than other aspects of human welfare. This has created an increasingly difficult context within which to prioritize social policies and efforts aimed to achieve primarily social and not profit‐oriented goals. In the face of this larger context, alone, Health in All Policies approaches will not bring about the needed transformation to achieve healthy populations and economic transition. However, Health in All Policies approaches do offer lessons and a rationale that is aligned with, and can support the transition to, a well‐being economy. Transforming current economic approaches to a well‐being economy is imperative to achieve equitable population health, social security and climate sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an innovative knowledge translation project involving researchers and key stakeholders commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). The project aimed to develop 'cameo' reports of evidence-based policies and interventions addressing social determinants of health, intended for use by leaders and advocates, as well as policy and programme decision makers, to advance global action. The iterative process of developing the framework and content of the cameos, in the context of a limited evidence base, is described, and a number of issues related to the integration of multiple sources of evidence for knowledge translation action are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To analyze links between social class and health-related indicators and behaviors in Chilean workers, from a neo-Marxian perspective. Methods. A cross-sectional study based on the First National Survey on Employment, Work, Health, and Quality of Life of Workers in Chile, done in 2009-2010 (n = 9 503). Dependent variables were self-perceived health status and mental health, examined using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Health-related behavior variables included tobacco use and physical activity. The independent variable was neo-Marxian social class. Descriptive analyses of prevalence were performed and odds ratio (OR) models and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated. Results. Medium employers (between 2 and 10 employees) reported a lower prevalence of poor health (21.6% [OR 0.68; 95%CI 0.46-0.99]). Unskilled managers had the lowest mental health risk (OR 0.43; 95%CI 0.21-0.88), with differences between men and women. Large employers (more than 10 employees) reported smoking the least, while large employers, expert supervisors, and semi-skilled workers engaged in significantly more physical activity. Conclusions. Large employers and expert managers have the best health-related indicators and behaviors. Formal proletarians, informal proletarians, and unskilled supervisors, however, have the worst general health indicators, confirming that social class is a key determinant in the generation of population health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]