Kudos to Health Affairs and the RWJF for their continuing efforts to focus on the social determinants of health. A recent issue focused on cooperation between the Federal Reserve Bank and community development institutions to assure healthy neighborhoods and health-enhancing social conditions. As editor Susan Dentzer explains:

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation became acutely aware of the gap [between the public health and health care sectors and the nation’s community development “industry”] through its sponsorship of the Commission to Build a Healthier America, which the foundation convened in 2008 and of which Williams served as staff director. The Fed’s awareness stems from its congressional mandate to achieve strong, low-inflation economic growth and to help low-income communities become full partners in that process.

So, as the foundation’s Risa Lavizzo-Mourey and Sandra Braunstein of the Fed write, both sectors are now focused on what they might achieve together. Health care providers understand that they can make more headway against chronic disease if residents of a local housing complex have access to safe parks and healthier food. Community developers understand that beyond creating low-income housing, they should also invest in these amenities and even construction or expansion of community health centers.

The program is also podcast as a Health Affairs event.

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