How could efforts to address the non-medical, underlying causes of poor health like unsafe neighborhoods, access to healthy eating, and affordable health care have helped battle #COVID19 before it hit us?
“People who have multiple chronic conditions are at greatest risk of getting really sick from COVID-19,” says EHF’s Elena Marks. “Many chronic conditions can be prevented on the front end and can be managed effectively or more effectively if you invest in social determinants of health. If you think about diabetes, which is largely preventable based on lifestyle changes that some people can make and refuse to make, but many other people would like to make but aren’t equipped to make because of where they live, how much money they make, etc.”
“Diabetes is largely a preventable disease, but it’s not preventable through medicine or health care. It’s preventable by addressing the underlying, social conditions like access to healthy foods, safe exercise and more.”
Listen to more about EHF’s effort to improve #HealthNotJustHealthcare in Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy‘s “Policy Matters” podcast:
