Education and Health Equity

The link between education and health has long been established. People who have more years of schooling are more likely to live longer and have better health outcomes throughout their life. But why is this?

Underlying many kinds of health disparities are educational inequalities, and available data show that higher levels of educational attainment for currently disadvantaged groups could reduce the incidence of diseases by one-third to one-half the current rates. In turn, reduced disease would lower health care costs. In short, education can be a powerful lever for controlling health care costs and moving toward eliminating health disparities.

For children, poverty or low income and discrimination can limit parents’ opportunities to provide their children with safe, nurturing, stimulating, and health-promoting environments, access to health care, and high-quality educational opportunities. Children disadvantaged by poverty not only experience more unhealthy conditions; they also are less likely to experience the benefits of positive health-promoting conditions, such as high-quality early care and education; safe streets and green spaces for physical activity; healthy foods; and role models who engage in healthy behaviors. Unhealthy living environments can lower children’s resilience by compromising their immune and emotional regulation systems.

Furthermore, a number of health problems—such as vision, asthma, physical activity, and hunger—are known to impact education by impeding sensory perceptions, cognition, school connectedness, attendance, and enrollment. Health affects the way students show up to school and interact with their learning and environment.

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There are several ways that education enables and leads to better health outcomes:

Education supports the development of increased health literacy skills—skills that help people advocate for their health and the health of their families.
People with less education tend to experience more stress associated with economic and social disadvantage, such as discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities. People with more education are more likely to be buffered from the effects of stress. They tend to have additional social networks that can provide financial, psychological, and emotional support.
People with more education and higher paying positions are able to live in neighborhoods with greater access to healthy food options, green spaces, health care providers and higher-paying jobs.
The more education a person has, the more likely he/she is o have jobs with benefits that promote health (e.g., health insurance and retirement). People in this category tend to have higher earnings that allow families to access resources, such as stable housing, health care and healthy foods.

Our Data Analysis and Targeting

Analyze data to identify which groups of youth are at high risk for targeted problems or risk behaviors
Target efforts and resources to support policy and programmatic efforts that address the needs of children in high-risk groups
We support the design and implementation of evidence-based, culturally- and linguistically appropriate interventions and programs that focus on youth at high risk

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Our Narrative Change and Awareness

We educate stakeholders about the causes of disparities and develop evidence-based strategies for effectively addressing specific issues among specific groups of children at high risk.
We educate policy makers, the public, and organizations about health and educational disparities, their causes, and evidence-based strategies for effectively addressing specific issues among specific groups of youth at high risk.

Our Partnership Networks

We strengthen and sustain partnerships with agencies and organizations serving children at high risk.
We participate in broad coalitions that work to address the root causes of health and educational disparities (e.g., poverty, access to health care, discrimination).
We actively involve parents and at-risk youths in advisory boards or youth councils that plan programs to address health and educational disparities.

Our Monitoring and Re-Evaluation

We document and share broadly the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in reaching youth at high risk.
We monitor health outcomes and behaviors among children and youth at high risk and, if possible, policies and programs that address these outcomes and behaviors among these children and youths.
We evaluate activities and programs that focus on children and youth at high risk, and use findings to improve programs.

Education and Health Equity