Determinants of health - individual characteristics and behaviours

Definition

Individual characteristics and behaviours (genetics, health literacy, diet, physical activity, substance use, health-seeking behaviour) are one component of the broader determinants of health framework - important, but only one contributor alongside socioeconomic and environmental factors, and themselves often shaped by these broader structural determinants rather than being purely independent personal choices
A traditionally emphasised determinant category in clinical practice given its direct relevance to individual patient counselling, though increasingly understood as interacting with, rather than operating independently of, socioeconomic and environmental context

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