Practising ‘social paediatrics’: what do the social determinants of child health mean for professionalism and practice?

Paediatrics stands at a turning point: today's health challenges are chronic, complex and connected, but health services are ill-prepared. Given the well-established epidemiological literature which shows that health status is heavily determined by social factors, the profession is now forced to redefine itself. What role should paediatricians play in the health systems of the future? How might the application of a ‘social lens’ and development of ‘social paediatrics’ help the profession to reconsider its roles and responsibilities? This paper represents a first attempt to respond to these questions. Using child poverty as an example of how socially conscious practice can broaden paediatric interventions for both the individual patient and wider population, it lays the ground for further work, which is both timely and necessary if practitioners are to be properly empowered and equipped to deal with child health in the 21st century.