State Health Plan: Structural and Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Data
The Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health collects and analyzes data about the community conditions that enable communities and families to thrive. This type of data is often referred to as structural and social determinants of heath (SDoH) data.
Learn about SDoH
What are structural and social determinants of health?
Social determinants of health are vital community conditions and non-medical factors that influence health. They include the environments and experiences in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. For example, affordable and healthy housing, financial stability, and supportive communities are all social determinants of health. These are all social conditions that are needed in order for communities and families to thrive.
These social determinants of health are shaped by a wider set of forces and systems, like governing structures and processes, economic and social policies, and social norms. These forces and systems are referred to as structural determinants of health. These structural and social factors are recognized as the main drivers of health inequities in Wisconsin and have been shown to have a greater influence on health than genetic factors or access to health care.
Why is data on structural and social determinants of health important?
Because structural and social determinants of health explain why some people are healthier than others, it is important to collect and analyze data about these determinants directly. These data can be in the form of numbers and statistics, but they can also be in the form of insights gathered from community members. Community insights often tell us why certain factors are most relevant for a specific community and what actions might improve the conditions in the community. Numbers and statistics about structural and social determinants of health help tell us how much or how often something occurs and can be especially useful for tracking trends over time. View the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) webpage explaining why addressing SDoH is important for public health.
Where do I find data on structural and social determinants of health?
For many communities, exploring publicly available data may be a good starting point. Other communities may prefer to collect their own data that is specific to their community priorities.
The resources below provide access to some SDoH data for Wisconsin.
Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan Data
For a comprehensive list of publicly available SDoH data, download the Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan Indicator list (Excel) from the Community Health Assessments and Improvement Plans webpage. The “Community Conditions” section in this file outlines available SDoH data, how to access those data, and other important information about each data point. The file includes information about available housing data, economic and employment data, education data, healthcare access data, childcare data, transportation data, and other social and community data. View the accompanying Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) document for more details on how to use the indicator list.
Environmental Public Health Tracking
The Environmental Public Health Tracking Program provides County Environmental Health Profiles and an interactive portal with local Wisconsin data for a variety of environmental health and SDoH topics, accessible through the Topics and Data webpage.
Wisconsin County Profiles
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development publishes Wisconsin County Profiles annually. These reports include an analysis of employment, transportation, housing, childcare, and broadband access data for each county.
PLACES: Local data for better health
The CDC publishes PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, which is an interactive data tool that includes health data for small areas across the country. This data includes some local data on health-related needs and social determinants of health.
PolicyMap
PolicyMap brings together a wide variety of data on income, housing, education, and other topics into one online mapping platform. Explore Wisconsin data by clicking on the “Open Map” box on the PolicyMap webpage.
Occupational Health
The Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Program has published articles, surveillance briefs, fact sheets, dashboards and other materials highlighting health and safety risks across various industries and occupations, as well as prevention resources for workers and employers.
Health Surveys
The Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, the Family Health Survey, and the Pregnancy Risk and Monitoring System (PRAMS) all include survey questions about SDoH. For more information about this data, contact the survey coordinators.
How do I use structural and social determinants of health data?
SDoH data can be used to inform public health planning, resource allocation, policy change, advocacy efforts, research, and grant applications, among many other uses. For an example of how SDoH data can be used in public health planning, resource allocation and policy efforts, review the 2020 Wisconsin State Health Assessment, P-03169 (PDF) and the 2023-2027 Wisconsin State Health Improvement Plan.
For more information about how to use SDoH data, Minnesota Department of Health’s Conducting a Health Equity Data Analysis (HEDA): A guide for local health departments in Minnesota is a helpful resource.
Have questions or feedback?
Contact us if you have questions or feedback, or if you can’t find what you are looking for.
Data Resource Center
Email: DHSDPHDataResourcecenter@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Phone: 608-267-0233
Chelsea Robinson
Social Determinants of Health Epidemiologist
Email: Chelsea.Robinson@dhs.wisconsin.gov