Societal Factors that Influence Health: A Framework for Hospitals

As cornerstones of their communities, hospitals and health systems play a key role in addressing the societal factors that influence the health for the patients and communities they serve. Focusing on societal factors benefits patient care and serves as an avenue to meet hospitals’ strategic goals including advancing equity, improving quality and outcomes, reducing costs, and building community engagement and trust. 

The AHA’s Societal Factors that Influence Health Framework is designed to guide hospitals’ strategies to address the social needs of their patients, social drivers of health in their communities and the systemic causes that lead to health inequities so the entire field can take action around these issues.

 SOCIETAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HEALTH

As hospitals and health systems collaborate with stakeholders on strategies to address the societal factors that influence health, they can consider aligning their efforts with the levels of the framework: person, community and systemic. Download the framework to view  a description of each level and examples of what hospitals can do to improve the health of their patients and communities.