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It's long been recognized that healthier kids do better in school. However, the reverse is true as well. The more educated a person is the better their health. How is this so? Research has shown that educated people have higher income levels, greater social opportunities, better employment status, improved literacy, and increased life expectancy. All of these concepts are intertwined and not one truly stands alone. However, they all work together to make education a social determinant of health. According to the CDC, social determinants of health are the "conditions in the places where people live, learn, work and play" and how they affect health and health outcomes. That is, where someone goes to school, what they learn at school, what jobs they get after school, and even how they play before, during, and after school can affect their health.
Healthy People 2020 identifies four areas to improve educational outcomes to improve health. Those four areas include high school graduation rates, enrollment in higher education, language and literacy, and early childhood education. This post will focus more on the first two -- high school graduation rates and enrollment in higher education -- as they pertain to improving health outcomes.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data suggests that the more someone is educated, the higher the income. Likewise, the more educated someone is, the lower the unemployment rate. A person with less than a high school diploma is more than three times more likely to be unemployed than someone with a master's degree or higher. Individuals with master's degrees or higher are likely to make three times higher the income of those with a high school diploma or less.
As indicated by the BLS data, more education leads to greater income potential. The greater someone's income, the greater access they have to financial and other resources. For example, using the BLS numbers, someone with less than a high school diploma earns a median income of $504 a week or $2,268 a month or $27,216. Based on some state programs, this individual would not be eligible as a single adult for Medicaid. Moreover, the employer may not provide health insurance, and the individual may be required to purchase a low-cost insurance plan through the marketplace. Even with the plan, insurance copays and prescription drugs may be difficult to come by. More income is used for necessities and less disposable income is available. An individual who holds a professional degree earns a median income of $1745 a week or $7853 a month or $94,230 a year. This individual is more likely to be able to obtain health insurance and other health benefits, even if the benefits are not employer provided. Moreover, this individual would have greater disposable income.
Also associated with a lower income is greater difficulty in meeting needs of daily living and health needs. Healthier foods can be more expensive and harder to obtain. More time is spent on providing for and taking care of expenses and necessities for the home and family, so less leisure time is available for exercising and engaging in other preventative measures. Coming up with the copay for a doctor's appointment may be more difficult or obtaining the money to pay for school or flu vaccines or other health requirements for work may be costly. Unusual or unforeseen expenses can also cause greater financial strain on a lower-income family and not leave enough money for health expenses. Individuals may also feel stressed and feel like this is the only way they know how to live.
With greater education, however, also comes a greater understanding of health needs and why being healthy is important. This is known as health literacy. The more educated someone is, the more educated they become about what it means to be healthy and how to achieve healthy outcomes. Providing health literacy for someone with less education is more challenging, but not impossible. More work is needed in this area. Someone without a high school diploma may have convinced himself/herself that health insurance or regular dental exams are not necessary. The lower-income individual may choose not to put his/her family on their health insurance because too much money is taken out of his/her paycheck. Unfortunately, this lack of health literacy and other factors such as poverty and stress can mean that those with less education will actually live shorter lives than those with more education. For example, high school students may learn about personal health. College students may learn about fitness management, nutrition, psychology, anatomy, physiology, and other areas that help them learn how to manage their health and understand their health better. Advanced degree holders may learn how health issues are diagnosed, how better to access health services, how prevention improves health, the importance of health insurance, and many other factors. As more knowledge is gained, the individual learns more about how to improve health status and outcomes.
Sources
Network for Public Health Law. Education as a Social Determinant of Health: The Role of Laws and Policies. February 23, 2017. Found online at: https://www.networkforphl.org/_asset/h1z5yj/webinar-Education-as-a-Social-Determinant-of-Health-The-Role-of-Laws-and-Policies-2-23-17.pdf
Plan4Health. Education is a Social Determinant of Health. August 23,2016. Found online at: http://plan4health.us/education-is-a-social-determinant-of-health/
R.A. Hahn and B.I. Truman. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity. Int. J Health Serv 2015: 45(4): 657-678. Found online at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4691207/
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights. Understanding the Relationship Between Education and Health. Found online at: https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/education/curriculum-tools/population-health/zimmerman.html
Virginia Commonwealth University. Center on Society and Health. Why Education Matters to Health: Exploring the Causes. Found online at: http://societyhealth.vcu.edu/work/the-projects/why-education-matters-to-health-exploring-the-causes.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Social Determinants of Health: Know What Affects Health. Found online at: https://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. HealthyPeople.gov. Healthy People 2020. Social Determinants of Health: Overview. Found online at: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health
United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections. Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment, 2016. Found online at: https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
Healthy People 2020 identifies four areas to improve educational outcomes to improve health. Those four areas include high school graduation rates, enrollment in higher education, language and literacy, and early childhood education. This post will focus more on the first two -- high school graduation rates and enrollment in higher education -- as they pertain to improving health outcomes.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data suggests that the more someone is educated, the higher the income. Likewise, the more educated someone is, the lower the unemployment rate. A person with less than a high school diploma is more than three times more likely to be unemployed than someone with a master's degree or higher. Individuals with master's degrees or higher are likely to make three times higher the income of those with a high school diploma or less.
As indicated by the BLS data, more education leads to greater income potential. The greater someone's income, the greater access they have to financial and other resources. For example, using the BLS numbers, someone with less than a high school diploma earns a median income of $504 a week or $2,268 a month or $27,216. Based on some state programs, this individual would not be eligible as a single adult for Medicaid. Moreover, the employer may not provide health insurance, and the individual may be required to purchase a low-cost insurance plan through the marketplace. Even with the plan, insurance copays and prescription drugs may be difficult to come by. More income is used for necessities and less disposable income is available. An individual who holds a professional degree earns a median income of $1745 a week or $7853 a month or $94,230 a year. This individual is more likely to be able to obtain health insurance and other health benefits, even if the benefits are not employer provided. Moreover, this individual would have greater disposable income.
Also associated with a lower income is greater difficulty in meeting needs of daily living and health needs. Healthier foods can be more expensive and harder to obtain. More time is spent on providing for and taking care of expenses and necessities for the home and family, so less leisure time is available for exercising and engaging in other preventative measures. Coming up with the copay for a doctor's appointment may be more difficult or obtaining the money to pay for school or flu vaccines or other health requirements for work may be costly. Unusual or unforeseen expenses can also cause greater financial strain on a lower-income family and not leave enough money for health expenses. Individuals may also feel stressed and feel like this is the only way they know how to live.
With greater education, however, also comes a greater understanding of health needs and why being healthy is important. This is known as health literacy. The more educated someone is, the more educated they become about what it means to be healthy and how to achieve healthy outcomes. Providing health literacy for someone with less education is more challenging, but not impossible. More work is needed in this area. Someone without a high school diploma may have convinced himself/herself that health insurance or regular dental exams are not necessary. The lower-income individual may choose not to put his/her family on their health insurance because too much money is taken out of his/her paycheck. Unfortunately, this lack of health literacy and other factors such as poverty and stress can mean that those with less education will actually live shorter lives than those with more education. For example, high school students may learn about personal health. College students may learn about fitness management, nutrition, psychology, anatomy, physiology, and other areas that help them learn how to manage their health and understand their health better. Advanced degree holders may learn how health issues are diagnosed, how better to access health services, how prevention improves health, the importance of health insurance, and many other factors. As more knowledge is gained, the individual learns more about how to improve health status and outcomes.
Sources
Network for Public Health Law. Education as a Social Determinant of Health: The Role of Laws and Policies. February 23, 2017. Found online at: https://www.networkforphl.org/_asset/h1z5yj/webinar-Education-as-a-Social-Determinant-of-Health-The-Role-of-Laws-and-Policies-2-23-17.pdf
Plan4Health. Education is a Social Determinant of Health. August 23,2016. Found online at: http://plan4health.us/education-is-a-social-determinant-of-health/
R.A. Hahn and B.I. Truman. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity. Int. J Health Serv 2015: 45(4): 657-678. Found online at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4691207/
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights. Understanding the Relationship Between Education and Health. Found online at: https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/education/curriculum-tools/population-health/zimmerman.html
Virginia Commonwealth University. Center on Society and Health. Why Education Matters to Health: Exploring the Causes. Found online at: http://societyhealth.vcu.edu/work/the-projects/why-education-matters-to-health-exploring-the-causes.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Social Determinants of Health: Know What Affects Health. Found online at: https://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. HealthyPeople.gov. Healthy People 2020. Social Determinants of Health: Overview. Found online at: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health
United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections. Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment, 2016. Found online at: https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
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