Many factors combine to affect the health of individuals and communities. Whether people are
healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment. To a large extent, factors
such as where we live, the state of our environment, genetics, our income and education level, and
our relationships with friends and family, all have considerable impacts on health. In contrast, the
more commonly considered factors, such as access and use of health care services, often have less
of an impact.