Public Health
Dedicating resources to social change initiatives could reduce gaps in mortality rates between more- and less-educated people than spending on medical advances would, a study in the American Journal of Public Health found.
Mortality rates for adults who only attained a high school education and for those who did not finish high school are 2.3 and 2.7 times higher, respectively, than those with some college instruction, according to the authors. Researchers attribute adequate education to making better health choices and having the financial capacity to obtain access to quality care.
The study concludes that policymakers should focus on the connection between education and mortality rates rather than gradual improvements in medical technology (Woolf et al., American Journal of Public Health, April 2007).