BU-led global commission launches roadmap to better health using big data

Social determinants of health—the factors that shape where we live, work, learn, and play, from stable employment and housing to food access, education, and policies and laws—impact our health in many more ways than a doctor can.

These social determinants of health (SDoH) matter, and a data-driven understanding of how and why they matter can lead to better decision-making about policies that will improve population health, according to a new report by the Rockefeller Foundation–Boston University Commission on Health Determinants, Data, and Decision-Making (3-D Commission).

The 3-D Commission released its groundbreaking report, titled Data, Social Determinants, and Better Decision-Making for Health: The Report of the 3-D Commission, during a virtual event Tuesday, September 21, designed to coincide with this week’s 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Held on Zoom, the launch featured opening remarks by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Naveen Rao, Rockefeller Foundation senior vice president, health initiative, as well as a discussion of the report findings with six commission members, moderated by Sandro Galea, School of Public Health dean and Robert A. Knox Professor, chair of the 3-D Commission.