Social determinants of health and community wellbeing: the narratives of neighborhoods in our bodies

The relationship between our health and the place where we are born, live and grow up and the social conditions we live in is well known. The health and wellbeing of people and communities are deeply connected to their social, environmental, economic, political, educational, geographical and health care circumstances. Uneven distribution of these factors can generate health inequalities that could be avoided. The interaction of all of these factors with our biology is complex. Planning community and health promotion interventions needs to prioritize complex multilevel interventions on “the causes of the causes” rather than just focusing on reductionist individual interventions. The first interventions could have a broader impact to improve collective wellbeing, and to generate equity and social justice.