Contextualizing Age-Friendly Care Within Social Drivers of Health

Social drivers of health (SDOH) impact health outcomes across the lifespan, with distinct effects on the health and well-being of older adults. SDOH contribute to outcomes of particular importance to older adults, including physical and cognitive functioning and aging in place, highlighting the critical importance of addressing SDOH as part of comprehensive, patient-centered geriatrics care. Yet, there is limited guidance on best practices for the integration of SDOH into healthcare, particularly in subspecialty clinical settings such as geriatrics. Existing geriatrics frameworks, including Age-Friendly Health Systems and the Geriatrics 5Ms, provide an opportunity to incorporate SDOH concepts, as they are naturally aligned with models of social and medical care integration. Building on existing frameworks, we propose a novel conceptual model that integrates SDOH across the geriatrics care continuum, including practical guidance for geriatrics healthcare professionals to proactively incorporate SDOH into Age-Friendly care.