The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America looks beyond the medical care system to investigate how factors such as education, environment, income, housing and personal health choices impact the health of all Americans and ultimately provide better opportunities for Americans in every community to grow up and stay healthy. Even with decades of effort to improve America’s health care system, too many Americans still die earlier than they should, and too many are suffering from conditions that can be prevented. 

The RWJF Commission released a report in February 2008, Overcoming Obstacles to Health,that provides a profile of the current state of health in America.

A project of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) supports countries and global health partners to address the social factors leading to ill health and inequities. It draws the attention of society to the social determinants of health that are known to be among the worst causes of poor health and inequalities between and within countries. The determinants include unemployment, unsafe workplaces, urban slums, globalization and lack of access to health systems. 

The Web site contains final reports from the different knowledge networks, as well as additional background articles and resources.

Bezruchka explains that an increasing stratification between the rich and the poor plays a major role in the United States' decline in health and life expectancy rankings over the last five decades. Life spans and infant mortality rates depend very much on the hierarchal structure of a society. And new research shows that half of what influences our health as adults is largely determined before the age of five. What can we learn from other countries whose citizens live longer and healthier lives?

The above link opens a pdf of the transcript. Audio of this and other radio pieces by Bezruchka are available at Alternative Radio. Other articles and presentations by Bezruchka are available in the Population Health Forum's Resource Library.

A great collection of resources on the issues surrounding SDOH, health equity, and the politics of creating real change in the social factors that most affect health outcomes. 

See especially Raphael's "Public policies and the problematic USA population health profile," and "The Politics of Population Health: Why the Welfare State is the Key Social Determinant of Health."

This book aims to move future practitioners from the margins of prevention to its core by defining the elements of quality prevention efforts, identifying best practices and illustrating the application of prevention principles in a multitude of settings. The text, with chapters from a variety of authors, is written primarily for Master’s level public health, public policy and social welfare students to underscore the value and promise of prevention and to frame its practice as a key social and economic justice issue; however, it is also a wonderful resource for the dedicated layperson or activist.

This public health reader brings together the best peer reviewed research literature from the leading scholars and faculty in this growing field. This original and much-needed resource will be invaluable to graduate students and researchers alike. The book provides a historical and political context for the study of health, race, and ethnicity, with key findings on disparities in access, use, and quality. This volume also examines the role of health care providers in health disparities and discusses the issue of matching patients and doctors by race.

An overview of how socioeconomic status affects health, though consideration of neighborhood, employment conditions, personal behaviors, health care, race and stress. Includes policy implications. The MacArthur Network on SES and Health brings together many of the world's top researchers on socioeconomic factors in health. Many of these experts were interviewed for UNNATURAL CAUSES.

This book provides a knowledge base and innovative approaches for transforming everyday public health practice, departmental structure, and organizational culture in ways that may advance the attack on the root causes of inequities in the distribution of disease and illness. Through case studies and a conceptual framework, the book offers ideas, insight, and questions designed to strengthen LHD capacity to take action within a social justice perspective, in conjunction with their communities.

See especially Anthony Iton's chapter, "Tackling the Root Causes of Health Disparities Through Community Capacity Building."

The entire book is available online as a free pdf download.

This report explains the framework of place (economic, social, physical, and service environments) to understand the relationship between community conditions and health, analyzes the connections among all the environmental factors that contribute to a healthy community, and identifies environmental effects on community health.