Poor education predisposes one to poorer health. Study after study has confirmed this link, and now experts are honing in on the reasons for it and what can be done. “Persons with a higher education tend to have better jobs, and better income, better benefits,” said David R. Williams, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and staff director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America. These “better benefits” not only include more accessible healthcare but can include factors such as the ability to take time away from work to see the doctor. As well, people with higher levels of education tend to have more resources to cope with stress and life, such as access to a health club to exercise during periods of stress. Being more educated also means that a person can better understand the complexities that go along with modern medicine. In fact, a report from May, 2009 found that adults who did not graduate from high school were 2.5 times more likely to be in less than very good health, compared with counterparts who have a college degree. Williams is advocating that health promotion should be taught earlier in schools and that improvement in literacy rates could better the health of people as they become adults. [via Businessweek]
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Tags: education, Harvard, health, literacy, Public Health, Robert Wood Johnson, stress
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:58 am
If higher education coorelates to better health, then the rich of the world still be living and not a single one of them would have died. Hell, even Robert Wood Johnson Jr. would still be around.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, along with its minion AARP are supporters for Healthcare Reform currently making its way through Congress. Wonder why they support this travesty. RWJF owns the lion’s share of Johnson and Johnson Phrama company and they will benefit from the taxpayers each time one of their drugs are prescribed to the “Under Educated” and the taxpayers pick up the tab.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
maybe better educated people make better food & activity choices? you should see what some of our lower level employees eat! and no exercise at all….
October 15th, 2009 at 6:07 am
A lot of so-called “better educated people” make wrong choices also. It does not prevent someone from coughing on everyone else when they come to work sick. I have worked in medical offices and hospital my entire adult life, and that is where I came in contact with this cough which lasted for over 6 weeks. My doctor’s office gave me amoxicillin which was no help whatsoever, and it just had to run its course.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Maybe if the better-educated people gave the under-educated people sick time off, than contagious diseases would not be spread throughout the office.