Determinants of health and psychosocial factors
The social, environmental, behavioural and individual determinants of health with current Australian data (AIHW 2026, Closing the Gap 2026), how physical and psychological illness drive each other, and the social services and practical steps a physician uses to treat the whole person.
Tier 1Topic overview
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Health is set mostly outside the hospital. The WHO estimates that social determinants account for 30 to 55% of health outcomes, more than health care does.
- In Australia the socioeconomic gradient is steep: the age-adjusted death rate is 1.5 times higher in the most disadvantaged areas than the least, and 1.6 times higher in very remote areas than major cities (AIHW, Australia's health 2026).
- Physical illness causes psychological illness, and the reverse. Depression after MI, in diabetes and in COPD worsens survival, not only quality of life.
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Sources
- Australia's health 2026AU/NZAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2026
- Media release: Latest report card on Australia's health reveals areas of improvement and challengesAU/NZAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare, July 2026
- Closing the Gap Annual Data Compilation ReportAU/NZProductivity Commission, July 2026
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework, summary reportAU/NZAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare and National Indigenous Australians Agency, Updated June 2025
- Family, domestic and sexual violence: health outcomesAU/NZAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024 burden of disease data
- What are the current patient fees and charges? (PBS co-payments and safety net)AU/NZAustralian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, January 2026
- World report on social determinants of health equityWorld Health Organization, 2025
- Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health (Commission on Social Determinants of Health final report)World Health Organization, 2008
- Dahlgren G, Whitehead M. Policies and strategies to promote social equity in health. Institute for Futures Studies, StockholmInstitute for Futures Studies, 1991
- Engel GL. The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine. Science 1977;196:129-36Science, 1977
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
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