Are the Intermediators there? : Structural Equation Modeling on Social Determinants of Health in Eastern Burma

Sammanfattning: Social inequalities predominantly shape the population's health outcomes. Especially, basic social structures are the fundamental causes of determinants of health. Meanwhile, there are active intermediary factors of the social determinants of health introduced by the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. This study aims to examine those factors, alongside a fundamental cause perspective, that impact health outcomes. In so doing, the research questions are "do the intermediary factors exist between the fundamental causes and health outcomes?" and if these factors exist, "do they have a significant impact on health outcomes?". This study constructed its theoretical framework to investigate the study's hypothesis in a statistical model with the household survey data of the women of reproductive age in the conflict-affected areas of eastern Burma. The study has performed a rigorous analysis to evaluate the theoretical model in the Structural Equation Modeling. The study's findings indicate that the intermediary factors – material, psychosocial and behavioral factors, and access to health – endure between the study population's fundamental causes and health outcomes. The fundamental causes explicitly influence health outcomes through the intermediary factors. The correlations of these intermediary factors are statistically significant, and each intermediary factor has a unique and substantial impact on health outcomes.