About this book

The thirteen case studies contained in this publication were commissioned by the research node of the Knowledge Network on Priority Public Health Conditions (PPHC-KN), a WHO-based interdepartmental working group associated with the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. The publication is a joint product of the Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights (ETH), Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), and Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR). The case studies describe a wealth of experiences with implementing public health programmes that intend to address social determinants and to have a great impact on health equity. They also document the real-life challenges in implementing such programmes, including those in scaling up, managing policy changes, managing intersectoral processes, adjusting design and ensuring sustainability. 

This publication complements the previous publication by the Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights entitled Equity, social determinants and public health programmes, which analysed social determinants and health equity issues in 13 public health programmes, and identified possible entry points for interventions to address those social determinants and inequities at the levels of socioeconomic context, exposure, vulnerability, health outcomes and health consequences