The links between education and health are complex, and tied closely to income and to the opportunities people have to lead healthy lives in their communities says a new policy brief and video released today by the VCU Center on Society and Health, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The brief and video uncover why the relationship between education and health is so intertwined, and gives a personal perspective of the role of education as seen by our community and academic researchers, health experts, and others.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rsdBBFAN8]
The video and policy brief explore three main connections between education and health:

• Education creates opportunities for better health. Americans with more education are more likely to have better jobs with higher earnings, and live in communities with greater resources, including better schools and access to nutritious food, health services, and transportation.

• Poor health puts educational attainment at risk. Poor health can also cause educational setbacks starting at a young age. For example, children with asthma and other chronic illnesses may experience recurrent absences and have difficulty concentrating in class.

• Certain conditions—especially beginning in early childhood—affect both health and education. A person’s socioeconomic status, home environment, and other contextual factors can create stress, cause illness, and deprive individuals and families of resources for success in school, the workplace, and healthy living.

This release is the second of a four-part series in the Center’s Education and Health Initiative (EHI), an outreach effort to raise awareness about the important connections between education and health. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the EHI will release two additional briefs demonstrating why an investment in education is an investment in health. The first in the series was released in January.