Social environment: introduction

How we behave, our relationships, our gender and ethnic group, our education and work, the conditions and communities in which we live, and how we feel about ourselves are all elements of the social environment. These elements overlap and interact with elements of the physical environment to influence our health and impact on how long we live. There are also a great many links with other health determinants and, therefore, different topics on this website e.g. different life circumstances, different population groups, health inequalities and much more.

Given its clear link with health, the social environment has featured heavily in health-related policy documents stretching back to the late 1990s. In current policy terms, the Scottish Government's overall purpose of ‘sustainable and inclusive economic growth’ is underpinned by the National Performance Framework. Within this there are 11 National Outcomes to reflect 'our values as a nation and the aspirations we hold for our future' - and thus the policy direction of the government. Progress in achieving these outcomes is measured by 81 indicators.  A number of the outcomes (e.g. in relation to 'inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe communities', education and early years) and their associated indicators are highly relevant to the social environment. There are also obvious links to the Scottish Government's poverty and social justice policy agenda, particularly in terms of actions around loneliness and social isolation, early years, and broader actions around poverty and wider social circumstances.

A number of components of the Scottish Government's current (2022-23) programme for government (as well as previous, recent, programmes) relate directly to the social environment (e.g. the continued focus on educational attainment).

The fact that the social environment encompasses such a large number of different overlapping topics means that there is a similarly large number of different data sets relevant to its measurement and understanding. However, there are also important features of the social environment which are very difficult to measure, especially using routine survey or administrative data: e.g. well-being, so-called 'social capital' and related concepts. The data presented within these web pages, therefore, are merely examples of a small number of indicators relevant to the social environment, and as such, barely scratch the surface of this important aspect of health and well-being.