Did you know that having a high school diploma can help extend life expectancy by eight years?
That was one of many interesting facts about social determinants of health discussed at the Aetna Foundation’s first-ever Facebook Live event, “Building Healthy Communities.” The panel discussion featured Dr. Garth Graham, president of the Aetna Foundation, and three prominent health care influencers: Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, Lauren Singer, and Dr. Pedro Noguera.
Other highlights from the event include:
Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, a health care economist, said that 40 percent of people in the U.S. can’t afford the basics of a middle-class lifestyle, such as rent, child care or cellphone. She also said the U.S. spends far more per capita than other nations treating illnesses, rather than on prevention or other factors that affect health, like infrastructure, housing, transportation, and education. Read more about the topic at her blog: healthpopuli.com.
Pedro Noguera, distinguished professor of education at UCLA, noted that education affects health: people who live near poor schools often have less access to good health care. Follow him on Twitter @PedroANoguera.
Lauren Singer is a zero-waste advocate who said she hasn’t sent trash to a landfill since 2012. Lauren encourages people to think differently about waste and saying no to single-use plastics. To learn more about living a zero-waste lifestyle, check out Lauren on Twitter @TrashIs4Tossers.