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September 2012
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Social Determinants
From infancy through old age, the conditions in the social and physical environments in which people are born, live, work, and play can have a significant influence on health outcomes. Addressing social determinants is crucial to improving population health, eliminating health disparities, and meeting the overarching goals of Healthy People 2020.
People with more education are likely to live longer, healthier lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average in 2006, 25-year-old men without a high school diploma had a life expectancy 9.3 years less than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Women without a high school diploma had a life expectancy 8.6 years less than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.1 A 2011 study shows that higher educational attainment was associated independently with lower prevalence of chronic diseases.2 Education, a leading social determinant, is key to improving the Nation’s health.
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Leading Health Indicators
Leading Health Indicators are critical health issues that—if tackled appropriately—will dramatically reduce the leading causes of death and preventable illnesses.
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Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going
For the 2008–09 school year, the on-time high school graduation rate (within 4 years of starting the 9th grade) in public schools, as estimated using the Average Freshmen Graduation Rate, was 75.5%. On-time graduation rates have increased from 72.6% in the 2001–02 school year to 75.5% in the 2008–09 school year, moving toward the Healthy People 2020 target of 82.4%.
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Who’s Leading the Leading Health Indicators?
Education: A Key Social Determinant
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Graduation from high school is a strong predictor of better health. To combat low graduation rates and to improve academic performance, the Institute for Research and Reform in Education developed a comprehensive school reform initiative, First Things First (FTF). The FTF framework aims to engage students intellectually and emotionally in their schools through instructional improvement, small learning communities, and family and student advocacy systems.
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Reference in this bulletin to any specific product, process, service, organization, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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