Social Determinants of Health Strand: Recommendations of the National Goals on Health Equity Working Meeting

There has been a shift in U.S. population health and wellness initiatives in the past decade from initiatives to describe health disparities to initiatives to understand and address underlying causes of those disparities within a framework of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their caregivers, and advocates have much to contribute and gain from this work. The National Goals on Health Equity meetings provided a unique platform and an opportunity to summarize the current state of knowledge; identify national SDOH recommendations in research, practice, and policy; and set the stage for the future directions in SDOH in the IDD field. This article presents an outline to improve the SDOHs by better including people with IDD. The recommendations identify major SDOH issues and solutions proposed by a group of disability researchers, policy specialists, advocates, health care providers, and service providers with the aim to set forth an agenda for national, state, and local SDOH action to address health disparities, improve health and well-being, and advance health equity with people with IDD.