Fifty-seven percent of consumers surveyed said their doctor had never discussed 
the important social factors affecting their health

Without renewed urgency, PwC healthcare leaders say medical advances will be 
rendered ineffective

The rise in illnesses caused by our behaviours and the social determinants of 
health threatens to suffocate budgets in both wealthy and poor countries, while 
suppressing the power of modern medicine to improve lives. PwC's new report 
"Action required: The urgency of addressing social determinants of health" 
outlines why healthcare stakeholders need to act now.

Social determinants of health—or the social, economic and environmental factors 
of where we live and work such as social isolation, economic inequality, 
pollution and food deserts—are preventing too many people across the globe from 
making healthy choices. And the impact cannot be ignored: PwC projects that by 
2025, many countries will see obesity/overweight rates exceeding 68 percent of 
the population. By investing earlier in social determinants strategies that 
help people with housing, exercise, mental health support and ability to afford 
medications, governments and health systems stand to save money in the long 
term and improve health outcomes.

"Innovative medical treatments are rendered ineffective if people don't have 
social support and access to resources readily available to help keep them 
well," said Kelly Barnes, PwC's Global and US Health Industries Leader. "This 
is not optional; healthcare and government organizations that don't act on 
social determinants will spend more and more money, only to watch health status 
decline."

The report's results suggest opportunity for healthcare systems and governments 
to target social determinants of health by intervening earlier to prevent or 
stall the progress of chronic disease, especially when it comes to obesity and 
diabetes.

How to lead in social determinants of health: Five steps for bold action
PwC has identified five steps to help stakeholders develop social determinants 
of health strategies:

1.  Build the collective will. Too many healthcare stakeholders aren't talking 
about social determinants, as only 43 percent of respondents to a PwC Health 
Research Institute June 2019 global consumer survey said their doctor has even 
raised the subject with them. Other health workers, such as nurses, pharmacists 
and dietitians, are talking about it at a much lower level, highlighting the 
opportunity to involve healthcare workers more broadly. A convener can help 
bring partners together across the system by demonstrating the long-term 
benefits to each stakeholder of preventing more illness.

2.  Develop a framework that enables partners to work toward common goals. Once 
they have done the hard work of building coalitions, partners must overcome the 
everyday challenges of merging disparate workplaces with different missions, 
incentives and perspectives. Consumers expect that care should be better 
integrated to create a seamless experience; roughly one-third of consumers 
asked in a 2019 HRI global consumer survey indicated that there was an 
opportunity to better connect healthcare and social services.

3.  Generate data insights to inform decision making. Predictive analytics can 
also be used to consider both individual behaviour and the behaviour of 
populations. Many consumers do feel some individual responsibility to make a 
change, but 47% of respondents to PwC's 2019 HRI global consumer survey 
indicated healthcare providers are not sharing predictions about what 
healthcare services these patients may need in the future considering their 
medical history. Even if people find the motivation, they often lack the 
information or tools to prevent chronic conditions.

4.  Engage and reflect the community. Social determinants of health strategies 
must be grounded in the way people live and work. While 56 percent of HRI 
consumer survey respondents indicated they use or plan to use their smartphone 
to support their heath, technology can only work if it is embraced and trusted 
by the community members expected to use it. Retailers, technology providers, 
home health workers and educators could provide new pathways to engage with 
consumers.

5.  Measure and redeploy. In Western Sydney, a coalition dedicated to diabetes 
prevention in its area population set measurable goals such as reducing 
population weight and HbA1C levels, then started developing a diabetes 
dashboard to help measure which interventions worked and track trends in costs. 
An annual year-end review report and plan for the year ahead helped further 
refine its strategy and investments.

"Leaders in social determinants of health have built coalitions, harnessed the 
potential of data and predictive analytics, and identified where early 
investments in an intervention can have tremendous impact on people's health 
and lives," said PwC's Kelly Barnes. "We can't underestimate the transformative 
effect this action can have not only on health systems and governments, but the 
healthy life years we can give to more people across the globe."

For more on PwC's new report "Action required: The urgency of addressing social 
determinants of health," download the report at http://pwc.com/sdoh.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. 
We're a network of firms in 158 countries with more than 236,000 people who are 
committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find 
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details. © 2019 PwC. All rights reserved.

Source: PwC