The Lancet Public Health, March 2025

The responsibility of health: shifting the focus from individuals to systems

Social determinants of health, although widely acknowledged, tend to be poorly translated into policy. Health programme initiatives too often underline individual accountability, which reinforces a flawed narrative that overlooks structural barriers—poverty, inequitable access to resources, unsafe environments, and harmful commercial practices—which shape health behaviours.

For example, the ongoing Horizon Europe programme (2022–27) advocates for citizen empowerment by encouraging self-management and prevention, overshadowing the combined contributions of social and commercial determinants of health.
A key barrier to translating knowledge about social determinants of health into effective action lies in the knowledge translation toolkit, which includes measures and interventions specifically designed to bridge the gap between research and practice.