The social determinants of health in Spain (2010-2021): an exploratory review of the literature

Abstract

BACKGROUND // Social determinants of health (SDH) are the axes of social inequalities in health. Studying these differences between social groups is essential for addressing inequities. The objective of this review was to study the contributions made by the research on the effect of the SDH on health or its intermediate factors in the Spanish population from 2010 to 2021.

METHODS // An scoping review of the literature was carried out. Two blind reviewers performed the search, screening and selection of articles (50).

RESULTS // Most of articles included were cross-sectional studies (70%) and reviews (12%). Extracted information was grouped into each of the DSS: place of residence (5 items), race/ethnicity/origin (9), occupation (3), sex/gender (4), educational level (7), socioeconomic status (15), social capital/social support (1) and affective-sexual and gender diversity (6). Most reported health outcomes were mental health (40%) and self-perceived health status (30%).

CONCLUSIONS // Results are in line with the published literature. The greater the social disadvantage in any of the DSS, the worse the health results, which were even worse when several axes of inequality overlapped. This review may have had some biases, including publication and selection bias. Future research on the SDH must adopt an intersectional approach that will allow a better understanding of the axes on which inequalities take place.