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Factors that influence a family’s health range from international-level issues that include, climate change, entrenched north-south power relations, and globalisation. National-level issues include natural disasters (and vulnerability to their effects), inter-racial conflict, human trafficking, land ownership, politics and corruption. Community-level problems encompass poor water and sanitation, and household-level issues include smoke from cooking stoves or poor dietary choices.

These are influences on health are essentially external to the individual and include soci-economic, occupational and environmental factors. These issues are interconnected and complex, and the purpose of this section is to highlight some of these 'bigger picture' factors that can have an impact on health.

You can use the menu under the Broader Topics Affecting Health on the left to browse relevant material. We'll be constantly updating this section to make sure it's current, so please check back from time to time. If you are a member of CHGN, you will soon be able to access more tailored, specific resources, so do check back soon, or get in touch by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it