About this project

This research project explored new modeling techniques that show associations along the ‘pathways of effect’ between social, economic and environmental conditions and health outcomes at a population level. The purpose of the project was to illustrate the potential use of structural equation modeling (SEM) to highlight where regional pressures on determinants of health are observed in available datasets.

SEM is a combination of statistical research procedures that were used to measure broad concepts of interest that are relevant to health impact assessment, and environmental impact assessment more broadly. Concepts within a social determinants of health framework are difficult to be reduced down to a single measure of human health and/or well-being. SEM provides a way of combining data into high-level categories and then measuring how strongly these categories are associated with each other. Each category describes an aspect of the social determinants of health along the ‘pathways of effect’ continuum. The ultimate goal of SEM in this analysis is to highlight which relationships among determinants show up in real-world data at a regional scale.

For clarity around definitions and key concepts used in this website, readers are encouraged to consult the Frequently Asked Questions section. For more information on the technical analysis, indicators, and research process, readers should consult the full technical report available here.