Table 1

Determinants of population health
Level/ Nature	General determinants	More detailed determinants

Contextual level
Institutional	Institutional infrastructure	Governance structure Political environment System of law Regulation
Economic	Economic infrastructure	Occupational structure Tax system Markets
Social-cultural	Culture	Religion Ideology Customs
	Population	Population size Structure Geographical distribution
	Social infrastructure	Social organisation Knowledge development Social security Insurance system Mobility and communication
Environmental	Ecological settings	Ecosystems Climate
Distal level
Institutional	Health policy	Effective public health policy Sufficient public health budget
	Health-related policies	Effective food policy Effective water policy Effective social policy Effective environmental policy
Economic	Economic development	Income/wealth Economic equity
	Trade	Trade in goods and services Marketing
Social-cultural	Knowledge	Education and literacy Health education Technology
	Social interactions	Social equity Conflicts Travel and migration
Environmental	Ecosystem goods and services	Habitat Information Production Regulation
Proximal level
Institutional	Health services	Provision of and access to health services
Economic	-	-
Social-cultural	Lifestyle	Healthy food consumption patterns Alcohol and tobacco use Drug abuse Unsafe sexual behaviour Physical activity Stress coping Child care Lifestyle related endogen factors (blood pressure, obesity, cholesterol levels)
	Social environment	Social support and informal care Intended injuries and abuse/violence
Environmental	Food and water	Sufficient quality Sufficient quantity Sanitation
	Physical environment	Quality of the living environment (biotic, physical and chemical factors) Unintended injuries

Huynen et al. Globalization and Health 2005 1:14 doi:10.1186/1744-8603-1-14