Integrating Capability Approach and ICF to Address Social Determinants of Health and Collective Wellbeing
1
Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
2
Department of Health and Rehabiltation Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
3
Sociology, Criminology,& Social Work Department, Bradley University, Peoria, United States
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1252
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Social determinants of health—poverty, inequality, education, housing, and physical environment—underpin one-third of global health burdens, exacerbated by aging populations, chronic diseases, conflicts, and climate change. Traditional, fragmented, “commodity” approaches fail to prioritize outcomes such as improved healthy life expectancy and reduced inequities. Grounded in the WHO Constitution’s recognition of health as a fundamental right, this abstract explores how combining the Capability Approach (CA) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) can strengthen health systems to advance equity, inclusion, and sustainability in addressing these determinants.
METHODS:
Theoretical synthesis merges CA's emphasis on valued functionings with ICF framework of functioning that includes of body functions, activities, participation, and contextual factors influencing functioning. This panel session will examines how the two frameworks can jointly advance shifts from individual to collective wellbeing, integrating prevention as an economic driver for productivity and resilience in public health practice.
RESULTS:
ICF-CA integration empowers communities to assess functioning holistically, aligning public health goals with individual ánd collective values. Key outcomes of the session include: (1) examples of value-driven strategies enhancing human flourishing amid social determinants; (2) increased agency in goal-setting across participation and environmental and personal factors; (3) policy evolution prioritizing equity in low- and middle-income countries. Empirical insights from community practices will demonstrate novel measurable outcomes to improve in health justice and system resilience.
CONCLUSIONS:
This panel session demonstrates that using CA and ICF jointly as transformative frameworks for resilient, community based health promotion approaches to address social determinants of health. Participants gain insights for designing capability-informed public health strategies treating health as essential investment for equity, inclusion, and sustainability.
Social determinants of health—poverty, inequality, education, housing, and physical environment—underpin one-third of global health burdens, exacerbated by aging populations, chronic diseases, conflicts, and climate change. Traditional, fragmented, “commodity” approaches fail to prioritize outcomes such as improved healthy life expectancy and reduced inequities. Grounded in the WHO Constitution’s recognition of health as a fundamental right, this abstract explores how combining the Capability Approach (CA) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) can strengthen health systems to advance equity, inclusion, and sustainability in addressing these determinants.
METHODS:
Theoretical synthesis merges CA's emphasis on valued functionings with ICF framework of functioning that includes of body functions, activities, participation, and contextual factors influencing functioning. This panel session will examines how the two frameworks can jointly advance shifts from individual to collective wellbeing, integrating prevention as an economic driver for productivity and resilience in public health practice.
RESULTS:
ICF-CA integration empowers communities to assess functioning holistically, aligning public health goals with individual ánd collective values. Key outcomes of the session include: (1) examples of value-driven strategies enhancing human flourishing amid social determinants; (2) increased agency in goal-setting across participation and environmental and personal factors; (3) policy evolution prioritizing equity in low- and middle-income countries. Empirical insights from community practices will demonstrate novel measurable outcomes to improve in health justice and system resilience.
CONCLUSIONS:
This panel session demonstrates that using CA and ICF jointly as transformative frameworks for resilient, community based health promotion approaches to address social determinants of health. Participants gain insights for designing capability-informed public health strategies treating health as essential investment for equity, inclusion, and sustainability.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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