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Montez JK, Hayward MD, Zajacova A. Trends in U.S. Population Health: The Central Role of Policies, Politics, and Profits. J Health Soc Behav. 2021;62(3):286-301doi: 10.1177/00221465211015411.
Montez, J. K., Hayward, M. D., & Zajacova, A. (2021). Trends in U.S. Population Health: The Central Role of Policies, Politics, and Profits. Journal of health and social behavior, 62(3), 286-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465211015411
Montez, Jennifer Karas, et al. "Trends in U.S. Population Health: The Central Role of Policies, Politics, and Profits." Journal of health and social behavior vol. 62,3 (2021): 286-301. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465211015411
Montez JK, Hayward MD, Zajacova A. Trends in U.S. Population Health: The Central Role of Policies, Politics, and Profits. J Health Soc Behav. 2021 Sep;62(3):286-301. doi: 10.1177/00221465211015411. PMID: 34528482; PMCID: PMC8454055.
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J Health Soc Behav. 2021 Sep;62(3):286-301. doi: 10.1177/00221465211015411.

Trends in U.S. Population Health: The Central Role of Policies, Politics, and Profits.

Journal of health and social behavior

Jennifer Karas Montez, Mark D Hayward, Anna Zajacova

Affiliations

  1. Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
  2. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
  3. University of Western Ontario, London, ON, USA.

PMID: 34528482 PMCID: PMC8454055 DOI: 10.1177/00221465211015411

Abstract

Recent trends in U.S. health have been mixed, with improvements among some groups and geographic areas alongside declines among others. Medical sociologists have contributed to the understanding of those disparate trends, although important questions remain. In this article, we review trends since the 1980s in key indicators of U.S. health and weigh evidence from the last decade on their causes. To better understand contemporary trends in health, we propose that commonly used conceptual frameworks, such as social determinants of health, should be strengthened by prominently incorporating commercial, political-economic, and legal determinants. We illustrate how these structural determinants can provide new insights into health trends, using disparate health trajectories across U.S. states as an example. We conclude with suggestions for future research: focusing on structural causes of health trends and inequalities, expanding interdisciplinary perspectives, and integrating methods better equipped to handle the complexity of causal processes driving health trends and inequalities.

Keywords: commercial; inequalities; legal; political; trends

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