PHM-Exch> Assessing the impact and effectiveness of intersectoral action on the social determinants of health and health equity

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) <ruglucia at paho.org>
crossposted from: EQUIDAD at listserv.paho.org


** ** ** ** ** **

*Assessing the impact and effectiveness of intersectoral action on the
social determinants of health and health equity:
An expedited systematic review*

Antigonish, **Nova Scotia** **Canada**: National Collaborating Centre for
Determinants of Health, ****St.** **Francis** **Xavier** **University****.**
**

*ISBN: 978-1-926823-12-6 -  NCCDH_CCNDS  – June 2012*

Available online PDF [64p.] at: http://bit.ly/NSC5PE <http://t.co/XKBaA4nv>*
***
*What we did*

“…..Using streamlined systematic review methods we sought out evidence on
the impact of intersectoral action on health equity. Over a period of three
months, we screened over 10,000 articles, selected articles that met our
review criteria, critically appraised the included studies, and synthesized
the findings.****

*What we found*****

The review includes 17 studies which met our criteria.****

**o        **Few of these studies reported on interventions which address
structural determinants of health. Interventions which focused on access to
care and service delivery were more common. ****

**o        **The impact of intersectoral action is mixed, revealing a
moderate effect to no effect on the social determinants of health. The
evidence on the impact of intersectoral action on health equity is limited.
****

**o        **A number of tools and strategies such as project committees,
funding, dedicated staff, and clear expectations of outcomes for the
population of interest supported the initiation and implementation of
intersectoral initiatives.****

*What we learned*****

Our findings support what others have noted – much of the literature on the
social determinants of health to advance health equity is descriptive and
there is less of an emphasis on interventions. There are many examples of
intersectoral initiatives from across ****Canada**** and around the world,
yet outcomes related to health, the social determinants of health, or
policy for health equity are often not reported. Applying the expedited
systematic review method to the extremely complex and context-specific
nature of social determinants of health interventions has emphasized the
lack of available high quality, rigorously evaluated evidence.****
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