title: Social determinants of health.
abstract: In spite of improvements in its health care delivery systems and in local and state public health infrastructure, North Carolina continues to face significant challenges in improving the health of its citizens. The state lags behind almost two-thirds of the nation in overall health status, and racial and ethnic disparities exist across multiple indicators of health outcomes. A growing body of knowledge is emerging regarding the effects of various social, environmental, and economic factors on health status. The commentaries published in this issue of NCMJ address the relationships between health status or health outcomes and such factors as education, income, race or ethnicity, housing, and neighborhoods. Success stories and promising practices and projects in North Carolina are also featured.
authors.affiliation: North Carolina Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, 1931 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1931, USA. laura.gerald@dhhs.nc.gov
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gerald
mesh_terms: D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009657:North Carolina; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors