
A new online game by the Center for Healthy Work at the University of Illinois Chicago shows how social determinants of health affect diverse workers within an organization.
What are the social determinants of health? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they’re described as nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. “They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age. These forces and systems include a wide set of forces and systems that shape daily life, such as economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies, and political systems.”.
The online or mobile “In a Year’s Work” game lets users select an avatar – a temp warehouse worker, call center representative, human resources manager, and CEO – to play as in a fictional company.
Then, the user is placed within one scenario and asked to decide, considering the health effects of alternative work arrangements. Decisions that are made influence the character’s health and capability to make work healthy for other participants in that company.
Social determinants of health are one of three major priorities marked by the CDC in its “Healthy People 2030” report.