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COMMUNITY-HEALTH-WORK5 MIN READ

Read the Barrier, Not the Label

Use social determinants of health to distinguish motivation problems from access and context barriers.

Behavior is often the visible end of an invisible system. Why the lens matters WHO describes social determinants as the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, plus the distribution of power, money, and resources. For CHWs, the lens turns vague judgment into a concrete search for barriers. The common trap The trap is to label the person before mapping the path. "Noncompliant" may hide transport, cost, childcare, unsafe housing, low literacy, or a work schedule that punishes appointments. Labels make teams feel informed while leaving the actual problem untouched. What good sounds like Good CHW…

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