Convergence Collaborative on

Social Factors of Health

Seeking solutions to improve national wellbeing by incorporating social factors of health considerations into policy and practice

The Vision

We envision a world where young people have access to mental health care they need. Key to realizing this vision is creating culturally competent and age-appropriate mental and behavioral health program models. It is essential that youth and young adults are involved in the creation of these models.Given how many young people lack access to the mental health services they need, we advocate for additional public and private funding to increase access to quality mental health support for all youth. Achieving funding parity between mental health and physical health programs is another essential ingredient in fulfilling this vision.

Finally, we envision a world in which preventive measures and support are widely accessible before mental health challenges become acute, which can be both effective and cost-saving. This working group of advocates, mental health professionals, and public health leaders are dedicated to the well-being of our youth, and we believe that one of the most promising strategies for advancing our vision is to accelerate access to supportive community individuals such as peer support, near peers, paraprofessionals, and caring adults outside the traditional mental health workforce, thereby broadening and diversifying service networks and making mental health care more accessible and effective for our youth.

Our vision is not just about creating a better future for our youth but about shaping a society that values mental health as much as physical health, and recognizes that everyone, especially our youth, deserves access to quality mental health care.

The Problem

In the United States, we are beginning to understand that there is far more to good health than medical care. A person’s health condition is affected by many lifestyle and social conditions. Indeed, some researchers suggest that housing conditions, available social services, nutrition, and other social factors account for as much as 80 percent of a person’s health status, with medical care responsible for only 20 percent. Many countries concentrate more on these social factors than we do in the United States; indeed, the American medical system has taken more of a “repair shop” function.

As organizations in healthcare and various social sectors consider more comprehensive, upstream approaches, they encounter various challenges. The financing and business models of most health systems, for example, do not easily adapt to a partnership role with other sectors. Public and private payment systems do not help. Even within the federal and state governments, close collaboration proves difficult for health departments and other departments, as does coordinating their budgets and programs. Thus, despite the desire to do so, it remains difficult to deploy public and private resources strategically across sectors to achieve health and other social goals, such as health equity. If this frustrating policy environment is to change, reforms affecting multiple sectors will be required.

Some researchers suggest that housing conditions, available social services, nutrition, and other social factors account for as much as 80 percent of a person’s health status.
National Academy of Medicine

Some researchers suggest that medical care is responsible for only 20 percent of a person’s health status.
National Academy of Medicine

Next steps

Convergence is currently convening a Collaborative of a diverse group of representative stakeholders and experts through the summer of 2024, with the goal of finding consensus on a set of recommended policy changes. These federal and state actions will aim to create a significantly better policy environment for innovative collaborative efforts at all levels, to improve individual and public health.