Social Determinants of Health (SDH) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research that advances understanding of the determinants of health and health equity across populations.
The journal aims to:
Advance scientific knowledge on the social, economic, environmental, commercial, cultural, and political determinants of health.
Promote interdisciplinary research that informs public health practice and policy.
Support evidence-informed decision-making through the dissemination of robust and methodologically sound research.
Foster innovation in public health, preventive medicine, and population health.
Encourage research that contributes to reducing health inequalities and improving health outcomes worldwide.
Facilitate collaboration among researchers, healthcare professionals, policy-makers, and public health organizations.
Promote the translation of research findings into effective policies, programs, and interventions.
SDH welcomes submissions from researchers worldwide and encourages studies conducted in diverse geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic settings.
Scope
The journal publishes original and innovative research that examines the determinants of health at the individual, family, community, organizational, national, and global levels.
Submissions should provide scientific evidence with clear implications for public health research, clinical practice, health policy, health systems, or population health.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Social Determinants of Health
Socioeconomic inequalities
Education and health
Employment and working conditions
Income and poverty
Housing and living conditions
Food security
Social capital
Social cohesion
Social exclusion
Migration and health
Gender and health
Health literacy
Health Equity
Health inequalities
Health disparities
Equity-oriented interventions
Vulnerable and underserved populations
Indigenous health
Minority health
Refugee and migrant health
Disability and health equity
Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Health promotion
Disease prevention
Community health
Population health
Screening programs
Vaccination
Lifestyle interventions
Behavioral medicine
Primary prevention
Secondary prevention
Tertiary prevention
Quaternary prevention
Epidemiology
Social epidemiology
Chronic disease epidemiology
Infectious disease epidemiology
Environmental epidemiology
Occupational epidemiology
Nutritional epidemiology
Genetic epidemiology
Epidemiologic methods
Health Systems and Policy
Health systems research
Health services research
Universal health coverage
Primary health care
Health financing
Health governance
Healthcare quality
Patient safety
Health technology assessment
Evidence-informed policymaking
Environmental and Planetary Health
Climate change and health
Air pollution
Water and sanitation
Environmental justice
Urban health
Rural health
Occupational health
Built environment
Sustainable development
Planetary health
Population Health
Maternal health
Child and adolescent health
Women's health
Men's health
Healthy aging
Mental health
Oral health
Nutrition
Physical activity
Obesity
Tobacco control
Alcohol and substance use
Global Health
Global burden of disease
International health
Pandemic preparedness
Health security
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Humanitarian health
Health diplomacy
Global health governance
Digital Health and Innovation
Digital health
Telehealth
Artificial intelligence in healthcare
Big data analytics
Precision public health
Health informatics
Mobile health (mHealth)
Decision support systems
Implementation and Translation
Implementation science
Knowledge translation
Program evaluation
Quality improvement
Community-based participatory research
Health impact assessment
Public health interventions
Interdisciplinary Research
The journal encourages interdisciplinary submissions from fields including, but not limited to:
Public Health
Preventive Medicine
Epidemiology
Social Medicine
Health Policy
Health Economics
Sociology
Psychology
Environmental Health
Occupational Health
Nursing
Nutrition
Biostatistics
Demography
Anthropology
Geography
Urban Planning
Behavioral Sciences
Global Health
Implementation Science
Out of Scope
The following submissions are generally considered outside the scope of SDH unless they provide a clear and substantial contribution to population health or the understanding of health determinants:
Basic laboratory or molecular research without public health relevance.
Animal or in vitro studies lacking implications for human health or health systems.
Clinical case reports and small case series.
Studies focused solely on the efficacy of medical devices or pharmaceutical products without broader public health implications.
Manuscripts addressing purely clinical management without relevance to prevention, health systems, health policy, or population health.
Descriptive reports with limited scientific novelty or methodological rigor.
Articles primarily intended as educational materials, opinion pieces without supporting evidence, or conference summaries.
Authors who are uncertain whether their work fits the journal's scope are encouraged to contact the Editorial Office before submission.
Our Publishing Philosophy
SDH prioritizes research that is:
Scientifically rigorous.
Methodologically sound.
Ethically conducted.
Transparent and reproducible.
Relevant to public health practice and policy.
Likely to contribute to improving health equity and population health.