Funding areas

economic Instability Impact on Health

We define economic stability as having essential resources for living healthy (e.g., income/expense, housing, education, etc). The CDC lists economic stability as a social determinant of health because of the access it provides to additional resources to improve individual health outcomes. Chronic conditions and premature deaths are most prevalent in populations that lack economic stability.

Education Impact on Health

While there is no official definition for “middle class,” the median income, was approximately 67 thousand dollars in 2019 (Shriner and Kollar, 2021). The difference between households of this annual median income compared to low-income households was generally the former household being more educated. During the era of slavery, education nor wages were offered to black Americans. Post slavery, black Americans were still unable to establish wealth without land, without income, and without education. Poor education and inequalities in education delivery systems directly decreases the ability to pass college admissions tests, attain employment with livable wages, increase personal income, gain economic stability and, therefore, decreases resources for healthy living. The CDC has established a correlation between low education levels with poor health outcomes. Supporting studies specifically state higher rates of biological risk levels, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, liver disease, mental illness, comorbidities, disability or functional limitations, and premature death are associated with lower education attainment (Raghupathi and Ragupathi, 2020; Zajacova and Lawrence, 2018).

Neighborhood, Environment and Social Context Impact on Health

Through the Healthy People 2030 Campaign, the CDC recognizes that an individual’s neighborhood, environment, and social context can greatly impact their health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Nd). Living in poor communities exposes Americans to safety risks to include, but are not limited to, higher rates of violence, unsafe air, unsafe water, lack of food security, limited transportation, and inadequate housing. Black Americans are most likely to live in environments that comprises of all these factors with economical challenges to elevate into safer and healthier neighborhoods.

healthcare on health

In 2020, before COVID-19 was fully realized in America, Brookings institute highlighted the clear, race-based inequalities in health insurance and health outcomes. Due to several states refusing to expand Medicaid benefits, people of color are far less likely to be insured. Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, nearly one in every five black Americans were uninsured compared to one in every eight white Americans. Since the provision of ACA, uninsured rates fell substantially however many states, primarily in the south and through the National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius ruling, elected the option to not expand Medicaid under this provision (Young, 2020; Taylor, 2019). In 2017, 58 percent of the black population lived in the south, were uninsured, and experienced the most disparate health outcomes to white Americans.