B.C. Social Determinants of Health Standards

The Government of British Columbia Social Determinants of Health Standards (Standard) aims to provide consistency and guidance for social determinants of health  (SDOH) information data collection within British Columbia’s health care community. According to the World Health Organization, the social determinants of health are “mostly responsible for health inequities” and are the “non-medical factors that influence health outcomes” across the spectrum of healthcare delivery. The Standard is intended to support improved delivery of provincial health programs and services, as well as:

• Standardize definitions and terminology for the multiple domains of SDOH;
• Improving culturally safer care and health equity outcomes for communities and individuals who are, have been or may be experiencing health inequity,
• Bringing SDOH data into the mainstream of electronic health records, and
• Improving information practices, which include the principles, policies and processes of defining, collecting, organizing, sharing and using SDOH data in EHR systems.

The Social Determinants of Health Standard is meant to assist any B.C. health system provider to identify, capture, maintain, identify and understand SDOH, its potentially resultant inequities and other negative impacts on people and populations.

Scope

The scope of this standard is limited to defining the data definitions and terminology required to provide consistency to record details about the individual's (as applicable):

• Cultural identity and immigration status,
• Indigenous identity,
• Socio-economic status,
• Housing insecurity,
• Food insecurity,
• Occupation and employment including higher risk work history,
• Language, and 
• Social capital/adhesion. 

The Standard also ensures that required data is captured for each electronic health record (EHR) – and within this context, refers to collections of an individual’s lifetime health history and care records which will promote consistency and complete SDOH data in all health care domains (e.g., doctor’s offices, hospital and pharmacy systems) to advance equitable healthcare and a reflective patient record.

Governance

The B.C Social Determinants of Health Standards are governed by the provincial Health Information Standards Standing Committee (HISSC).  

Current Status

The SDOH domains that are currently in early development include Cultural Identity and Indigenous Identity.

Maintenance (once published)

Significant analysis and review of documents and specifications were undertaken to make sure the standards developed would be applicable and attainable to the various stakeholder groups.

Wherever possible, content templates defined and reviewed by standards bodies were referenced, and appropriate constraints for the B.C. context applied.

The content of the standard may require post-production edits, additions and/or maintenance to address issues identified by technical validation. Additional adjustments may be required over time to reflect requirements in B.C. or to align with emerging pan-Canadian standards developments.  

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• In development.

Last updated: January 2021