By Elaine Marshall, Isabel Geisler, L. Virginia Martinez, Krystal Abbott, and Katherine Hazen
Social drivers of health (SDOH), sometimes known as the social determinants of health, are factors in the social environment that shape individual and population health, including poverty, racism, housing, education, and employment. When judges decide cases that impact these social factors, their rulings can have important health implications. While cases impacting the SDOH can be landmark Supreme Court cases, such as the ruling on the CDC’s eviction moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic, judges also make decisions on a daily basis that can affect the SDOH and thereby health. Take, for example, a child welfare case out of New York, In re Brittany T, 852 N.Y.S.2d 475 (N.Y. App. Div. 2008), where the issue before the judge was whether a family willfully and without just cause violated orders meant to support their child’s health through diet and exercise. The order required the family to use all resources available to ensure the well-being of the child, enroll the child at their own cost in a local gym and attend it at least 2-3 times a week, and actively and honestly participate in a nutrition program.
