Canadian Health Network

What makes people healthy?

A number of factors work together to make people healthy, or not. They include:

• the social and economic environment,
• the physical environment, and
• the person’s individual characteristics and behaviours.

These factors are called the determinants of health.

The determinants of health do not exist in isolation from one another. Rather, they work together in a complex system. What is clear though, is that people’s circumstances affect their health and well-being. For example, research shows that living and working conditions have a greater impact on people’s health than health care. Things like housing, income, social support, work stress and education also make a big difference in how long people live, and the quality of their lives.

These determinants – or things that make people healthy or not – include the above factors, and many others:

1. Income and social status
   Research shows that poor people are less healthy than rich people. Income distribution in a society is also a key element. The greater the gap between the richest and poorest people, the greater the differences in health. See FAQ Are poor people less likely to be healthy than rich people? for more on the impact of income and wealth distribution on health.



2. Social support networks
   Support from families, friends and communities is linked to better health. This kind of support helps people handle difficult situations. Go to FAQ How do relationships with others affect people's health? to learn more about how relationships with others affect our health.



3. Employment and working conditions
   Unemployment is linked with poor health. Those who are employed are healthier when they have more control over their working conditions. Go to FAQ How is working related to health? to explore this question in greater detail.



4. Education
   There is a lot of research that shows that low literacy skills are linked with poor health. Moreover, people with low literacy skills can suffer from stress and reduced self-confidence. This often makes it hard for them to seek employment or social support. So the more education we have, the more likely we are to be healthy. FAQ How does education affect health? discusses the link between education and health.



5. Physical environments
   Clean air and water, healthy workplaces, safe houses, communities and roads all contribute to good health.



6. Genetics
   Physical characteristics we inherit play a part in deciding how long we live, how healthy we’ll be and how likely we are to get certain illnesses.



7. Personal health practices and coping skills
   Personal practices include whether a person eats well and is physically active, and whether they smoke or drink. Coping skills refer to the way we relate to the people around us and handle life’s stresses and challenges.



8. Healthy child development
   There is good evidence that things that happen to us when we are children affect our health and well-being. These experiences affect us not only during childhood, but also through the rest of the life cycle. Go to FAQ Can experiences in early childhood affect a person's health during adulthood? to learn more about how this happens.



9. Health services
   It benefits people’s health when they have access to services that prevent disease, as well as maintain and promote health.



10. Gender
    Men and women get different kinds of diseases and conditions at different ages. They also tend to have different income levels, and to work at different kinds of jobs. Many of these realities result from the differences in the way society treats men and women.



11. Culture
    People’s customs and traditions, and the beliefs of their family and community all affect their health. This is because these factors will influence what they think, feel, do and believe to be important.

It is important to think about all of these factors when thinking about health. Eating good food, exercising or visiting the doctor are not the only things that make people healthy; it is far more complicated than that. We need to look at the context of people’s lives, and not simply blame them for having poor health or credit them for having good health. Many of the determinants of health are not directly under a person’s control.