Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Series

How Social Factors Shape Health: Violence, Social Disadvantage and Health

By: Egerter S, Barclay C, Grossman-Kahn R, and Braveman P
Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Published: 5/1/2011

The same social factors that shape health–including education, income and wealth, and related conditions where we live, learn, work and play–are also strongly linked to violence. Considering those links can help us understand why some groups of Americans are more affected by violence than others. This issue brief focuses on the links between violence, health and social disadvantage. It examines the health effects of violence on individuals and communities and explores strategies to prevent violence by addressing the social determinants of health.

This is one in a series of 12 issue briefs on the social determinants of health. The series began as a product of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America and continues as a part of the Foundation's Vulnerable Populations Portfolio.

Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Series

This series of briefs explores factors that shape our health where we live, learn, work and play.

View all

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Education Matters for Health

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Work, Workplaces and Health

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