Social drivers of health
Multidisciplinary research on the impact of social drivers of health has led to a groundbreaking shift in our understanding of how to support overall child health and wellness. Models derived from basic science, translational, and clinical research as well as the social sciences describe the complex interplay between stressful environmental exposures, genetics, and resilience factors. Primary care pediatricians have the unique opportunity to have numerous touchpoints with children and their families as each child sees their doctor at least 12 times in the first 3years of life for scheduled well child care alone. Pediatricians need to be equipped with both the knowledge of how to screen for social drivers of health and the local and federal resources that are available to support identified needs.
