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Official Website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means its official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Social Determinants of Health

    The World Health Organization states that the social determinants of health (SDoH) are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age. Economic policies, development plans, social norms, and political systems influence the SDoH.

    According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), health disparities can be defined as factors and differences that affect certain population groups negatively and contribute to worse health outcomes. Health inequities are a type of health disparity that are marked as unfair or rooted from injustice.

    Here are some resources to understand and communicate how the SDoH such as the economy, education, transportation, impact health outcomes:

    Pennsylvania State Health Improvement Plan 

    The State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) is Pennsylvania’s big plan to make people healthier and live longer. Think of it as a road map to a healthier Pennsylvania! This plan was created by working with many different people from all over the Commonwealth. Together, they set goals, made plans, and figured out the best ways to improve health. The main goal of the SHIP is to make everyone in Pennsylvania healthier and to make sure that everyone has a fair chance at good health, no matter who they are or where they live. To make the SHIP even more successful, we need more organizations across the Commonwealth to get involved and volunteer their time and expertise.

    State Health Improvement Plan

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