Glossary: S to T
Shared space: Shared space: A street or place designed to improve pedestrian movement and comfort by reducing the dominance of motor vehicles and enabling all users to share the space rather than follow the clearly defined rules implied by more conventional designs.
Social determinants of health: the social and economic conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequalities.
Social economy: non-state and non-market forms of economic activity, sometimes outside the formal money system
Social prescribing: A process where GPs, nurses, link workers and other professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services. It seeks to address people’s needs in a holistic way and can involve a variety of activities which are typically provided by voluntary and community sector organisations.
Socio-economic position: A term that refers to the social and economic factors that influence what positions individuals or groups hold within the structure of a society. The term socioeconomic position includes both resource-based (e.g., deprivation) and prestige-related characteristics, which refer to the individual’s rank or status in a social hierarchy. Indicators of the socioeconomic position may be one’s education, occupation, income and wealth.
Stakeholder A stakeholder is anyone who has an interest in or can influence the success of a project. Stakeholders are often individuals, but they may also be groups or organisations.
Sufficient cause: A casual factor with which the effect (outcome) must occur. Often there are multiple components that together become a sufficient cause (sufficient-component causes), as in fire which occurs when there is a combination of heat, oxygen and fuel.
Sustainability: Functional durability of an intervention or a system which is a direct consequence of the extent to which an intervention is embedded within the systems and routines in which it operates.
System: A relatively stable set of actors, factors, activities or settings that are perceived to have influence in or be affected by a given problem or situation. Examples of systems include transport, education, health, welfare, housing, families. Many of these systems interact with each other, forming wider systems.
Systems thinking: way of thinking about problems and situations grounded on core systems principles.
Theory: A set of statements that organises, predicts and/or interprets or explains empirically observed phenomena or desired outcomes.
Theory of action: Theory describing how an intervention is constructed to activate underpinning theories of change (see also activities).
Theory of causes: The relationship between causal factors as they exist with system/s and their role in influencing the outcome or problem.
Theory of change: Theory describing the mechanisms by which change may, should or can be expected to occur.
Theory: A set of statements that organises, predicts and/or interprets or explains empirically observed phenomena or desired outcomes.
Time series: A set of observations, results, or other data obtained over a period of time, usually at regular intervals.
