Overcoming Obstacles to Health
Report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the Commission to Build a Healthier
February 2008
Paula Braveman, M.D., M.P.H. ; Susan Egerter, Ph.D.
Available online as PDF file [84p.] at: http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/obstaclestohealth.pdf
“……….Despite what many believe, a person's health is not only a product of good medical care and genes. In fact, in many cases, these may only be small pieces of a much larger puzzle.
Social and economic factors are keeping some Americans from being as healthy as they should be. Based on work conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), this report outlines in stark detail how a person's health and the likelihood of becoming sick and dying prematurely are greatly influenced by powerful social factors—such as levels of education, income and the quality of neighborhood environments.
This RWJF report describes the current health profile of Americans, looking specifically at how education, income, race and ethnicity play a role in Americans' health. This report:
· Examines the roles of personal and societal responsibilities for health within the contexts in which people live, work and learn—which influence both the choices people have and their ability to make healthy choices.
· Reviews evidence of the lasting impact that physical and social environments have on a child's health and on his or her chances of becoming a healthy adult.
· Reveals new national evidence of differences in health across income and education groups, and how they relate to differences in health by race or ethnicity.
· Provides new evidence of the economic and human costs of differences in health, including the life stories of three American families who are trying to make healthy choices but face major obstacles.
· Offers a framework for finding solutions by applying current knowledge about the underlying causes of social disparities in health.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Launches Commission to Look Beyond Medical Care System to Improve the Health of All Americans
February 28, 2008
http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/newsreleasesdetail.jsp?productid=26672&typeid=160
The national, independent and nonpartisan health commission will focus on factors outside the health care system and identify non-medical, evidence-based strategies—both short- and long-term—to improve the health of all Americans. The group will investigate how factors, such as education, environment, income and housing, shape and affect personal behavioral choices through an extensive inquiry that will include regional field hearings. The commission members represent a diverse group of innovators and experts with the ability to cross traditional boundaries, mobilize partners to action and identify practical, timely solutions.
The Commission to Build a Healthier America is based at the
David R. Williams, M.P.H., Ph.D., a renowned social scientist and Norman Professor of Public Health and professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology,
The research team for the commission's work is headed by distinguished health researcher Paula Braveman, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Family and Community Medicine at UCSF.
Commission to Build A Healthier
Mark B. McClellan
Director,
Alice M. Rivlin
Senior Fellow, Economic Studies Program, the Brookings Institution and Director, Greater
Visiting Professor at the Public Policy Institute of
Katherine Baicker
Professor of Health Economics, Department of Health Policy and Management,
Angela Glover Blackwell
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLink
Sheila P. Burke
Faculty Research Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Linda M. Dillman
Executive Vice President of Benefits and Risk Management, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Sen. Bill Frist
Schultz Visiting Professor of International Economic Policy,
Allan Golston
U.S. Program President, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Kati Haycock
President, Education Trust
Hugh Panero
Co-Founder and Former President and Chief Executive Officer, XM Satellite Radio
Carole Simpson
Leader-in-Residence,
Former Anchor, ABC News
Dennis Rivera
Chair, SEIU Healthcare
Jim Towey
President,
Gail L. Warden
Professor,
President Emeritus, Henry Ford Health System
* * * *
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