DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

This studio is concerned with etiology, or the “cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of disease or condition”. As such, we will explore the patterning (who/what) and determinants (why) of population health. The course will focus on determinants ranging from upstream features of the social and physical environment to downstream, proximal risk factors at the level of individual biology, as well as the interactions between them. While often we think about our health as a function of behaviors we can control and genetics we can’t, the reality is much more complex, involving dynamic interplay between biology and the environment over the life course. Where we live, what we are exposed to, and the social and economic positions we occupy are major influences on our health, becoming encoded in our biology and expressed in the diseases we develop (or avoid) and, ultimately, in our longevity. Identifying these factors and understanding their health consequences is central to public health. 

In this studio, students become acquainted with a) the major environmental issues that we face, b) the social factors such as race/racism, socioeconomic status and gender that influence health, and c) the underlying biological basis of human disease. In addition, students will be presented with the approaches used to address the health consequences of these determinants.