https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14034948221113147 Abstract The need to visualise the complexity of the determinants of population health and their interactions inspired the development of the rainbow model. In this commentary we chronicle how variations of this model have emerged, including the initial models of Haglund and Svanström (1982), Dahlgren and Whitehead (1991), and the Östgöta model (2014), and we illustrate how these models have been influential in both public health and beyond. All these models have strong Nordic connections and are thus an important Nordic contribution to public health. Further, these models have underpinned and facilitated other examples of Nordic leadership in public health, including practical efforts to address health inequalities and design new health policy approaches. Apart from documenting the emergence of rainbow models and their wide range of contemporary uses, we examine a range of criticisms levelled at these models – including limitations in methodological development and in scope. We propose the time is ripe for an updated generic determinants of health model, one that elucidates and preserves the core value in older models, while recognising the developments that have occurred over the past decades in our understanding of the determinants of health. We conclude with an example of a generic model that fulfills the general purposes of a determinants of health model while maintaining the necessary scope for further adjustments to be made in the future, as well as adjustments to location or context-specific purposes, in education, research, health promotion and beyond. Get a free copy of Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, 2nd edition at http://thecanadianfacts.org Join 1200+ health leaders on the SDOH Listserv at https://listserv.yorku.ca/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SDOH&A=1 Dennis Raphael, PhD Professor of Health Policy and Management York University 4700 Keele Street Strong College, Room 334 Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 416-736-2100, ext. 22054 email: [log in to unmask] Website: http://health.info.yorku.ca/health-profiles/index.php?mid=162284 Of interest: The Politics of Health in the Canadian Welfare State https://canadianscholars.ca/book/the-politics-of-health-in-the-canadian-welfare-state/ Poverty in Canada, 3rd edition, Forewords by Cathy Crowe, Rob Ranier and Jack Layton https://canadianscholars.ca/book/poverty-in-canada-d3408482-0caa-489a-8a76-7faf7587d00a/ Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care, 3rd edition Foreword by Gary Teeple https://canadianscholars.ca/book/staying-alive/ Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 3rd edition Forewords by Michael Butler and Maude Barlow, Carolyn Bennett and Roy Romanow https://canadianscholars.ca/book/social-determinants-of-health-3rd-edition/ Immigration, Public Policy, and Health: Newcomer Experiences in Developed Nations https://canadianscholars.ca/book/immigration-public-policy-and-health/ About Canada: Health and Illness, 2nd edition https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/about-canada-health-and-illness Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences Foreword by Alex Scott-Samuel https://canadianscholars.ca/book/tackling-health-inequalities/ Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Canada: Essential Readings https://canadianscholars.ca/book/health-promotion-and-quality-of-life-in-canada/ See a presentation! The Political Economy of Health Inequalities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NCTYqAub8g Also, presentation at the University of Toronto on how Canada stacks up again other nations in providing citizens with economic and social security. http://vimeo.com/33346501 See what Jack Layton had to say about my books! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/04/10/cv-election-ndp-layton-platform.html at 27:20 To leave, manage or join list: https://listserv.yorku.ca/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=sdoh&A=1