What are Social Determinants of Health?

Healthy People 2030 describes SDOH as “conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.”

SDOH have a direct impact on health and health outcomes. Using ICD-10-CM Z codes to capture SDOH during a medical visit can:

• Help to properly address issues
• Offer important context for understanding these issues on a national scale

You may also hear the terms social drivers of health or health-related social needs (HRSNs) when discussing SDOH. We’ll learn more about these in Lesson 3.