Everything that makes up where we live, learn, work, and play shapes our own and our community’s health, far more than a visit to the doctor ever will. From the foods we eat to the places we sleep, to the political decisions that affect our lives, what are the forces that shape the health of populations outside of health care?

Emerging and innovative forms of big data abound, as do traditional data sources. Collectively, these data have something to tell us about health determinants. How do we collect and analyze traditional and emerging big data sources to learn about health determinants?

From passing a budget to writing a law, decision-makers’ choices directly impact health determinants, so data on health determinants ought to be directly informing those choices. How do we ensure that tackling health determinants to improve the health of populations is a central goal in the decision-making process?