Social structures and socioeconomic patterns may be the most powerful factors determining the recovery of patients with musculoskeletal impairments. These factors can be categorized into social determinants of health (SDOH) and include economic stability, living environment, educational attainment, access to care and social support.
Despite the well-established importance of SDOH, to date, explicit empirically established pathways demonstrating the relationship between the different SDOH and clinical musculoskeletal health outcomes are limited. It will be critical to translate SDOH into daily clinical care in order to successfully optimize patient care, recovery and eliminate health disparities.
Ongoing Research Initiatives
- Identifying and evaluating social determinants of health and their relationship and/or impact on musculoskeletal recovery
- Physician perspectives on social determinants of health
- Impact of health literacy on surgical outcomes and patient reported outcome measures in orthopaedic patients
- Integration of social determinants of health in clinical practice