NOTES ON THE LINK BETWEEN INSTITUTIONS, SOCIAL INEQUALITIES AND HEALTH

Abstract

The debate about social determinants of health categorized by Nancy Krieger as part of the so called social epidemiology have helped to legitimize the study of social institutions as an important factor to understand the creation of uneven morbidity and mortality patterns among populations. This article offers a summary of key arguments on social determinants of health, in order to compare their contributions to the public health field when compared to biomedical and individualizing ideas about health and illness.