title: Social inequalities and access to health: challenges for society and the nursing field.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to present a critical reflection upon the current and different interpretative models of the Social Determinants of Health and inequalities hindering access and the right to health.
  
  
  METHODS
  theoretical study using critical hermeneutics to acquire reconstructive understanding based on a dialectical relationship between the explanation and understanding of interpretative models of the social determinants of health and inequalities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  interpretative models concerning the topic under study are classified. Three generations of interpretative models of the social determinants of health were identified and historically contextualized. The third and current generation presents a historical synthesis of the previous generations, including: neo-materialist theory, psychosocial theory, the theory of social capital, cultural-behavioral theory and the life course theory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From dialectical reflection and social criticism emerge a discussion concerning the complementarity of the models of the social determinants of health and the need for a more comprehensive conception of the determinants to guide inter-sector actions to eradicate inequalities that hinder access to health.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Regina Celia
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Fiorati
authors.affiliation: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo Alexandre
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Arcêncio
authors.affiliation: Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Larissa Barros
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: de Souza
mesh_terms: D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors