Perceptions of Social Determinants of Health for Emerging Research Scholars

On August 28, 2023, a cohort of first-year PhD in Nursing students embarked upon their journey as emerging research scholars at Emory University. Our cohort—John, Renée, Seema, Jiyoon, Hyein, and Kaprice—come from a range of social and cultural backgrounds, including diversity in age, gender, nationality, and education. One of the first required courses in their studies is the Endogenous and Exogenous Determinants of Health class designed and taught by Dr. Jill B. Hamilton. On the first day of class, our cohort spent time unpacking the four pillars (social, environment, cultural, and policy) in the social determinants of health (SDOH) framework for nursing education. With the current chapter, our cohort came together to share our personal and professional experiences with how the SDOH framework manifests in our respective areas of research. Each coauthor will give you a firsthand account of what their intentions were when applying to the PhD program, what their research interests/questions were prior to starting the program, and how their research interests/questions have changed over the first semester. We integrate the four pillars and implications of the SDOH framework throughout our discussion.