The Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG) has emphasized that "issues such as housing, education, employment, or socioeconomic status have a direct influence on people's opportunities to care for their health".
As the organization explains, "health does not depend exclusively on healthcare or individual decisions, but also on social, economic, and environmental factors that can favor or hinder well-being," and therefore it has prepared a ten-point guide on the social determinants of health and another focused on healthy lifestyles, with the aim of promoting a global conception of health.
With this initiative, the SEMG Working Group on Lifestyles and Health Determinants (e-VIDE), coordinated by Dr. Isabel María Paúles Cuesta, aims to raise awareness about the elements that condition well-being and to provide practical guidance to improve health from a preventive approach.
Key role of Family Medicine
With the intention of strengthening health promotion and disease prevention, combining personalized advice with recognition of the social determinants of well-being, the SEMG emphasizes that this comprehensive perspective is especially essential in Family Medicine, due to its closeness to citizens, its knowledge of the family and community setting, and its involvement in health education, prevention, and addressing the factors that influence health throughout life.
The ten-point guide on social determinants of health focuses on the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, as well as on the social, economic, and environmental circumstances that affect their health. Through 10 points, it highlights the importance of ensuring access to healthy food, education for the entire population, decent housing and a safe physical environment, in addition to adequate working conditions and sufficient income.
Likewise, the SEMG points out that it is essential "to have universal health services, to have social networks and support, to foster a culture based on respect, to ensure safety and to prevent violence," and it also highlights "the role of inclusive public policies to promote equity and reduce inequalities that condition the opportunities to maintain good health".
In parallel, the document devoted to lifestyles includes 10 guidelines aimed at promoting healthy habits and strengthening prevention in day-to-day life. Among them, the recommendation to maintain a varied and balanced diet is included, to ensure sufficient hydration, to carry out physical activity regularly, to avoid the consumption of toxic substances, to take care of rest, and to maintain an adequate body posture.