Question

What are the benefits of society being more educated about the social determinants of health?

Answer 1

The level of educational attainment is increasingly being recognized as an important social determinant of health. While higher educational attainment can play a significant role in shaping employment opportunities, it can also increase the capacity for better decision making regarding one’s health, and provide scope for increasing social and personal resources that are vital for physical and mental health. In today’s highly globalized knowledge based society postsecondary education (PSE) is fast becoming a minimum requirement for securing employment that can afford young adults the economic, social and personal resources needed for better health. Canada ranks high among OECD countries in terms of advanced education, with 66% of Canadians having completed some form of postsecondary education. Yet youth from low income indigenous and visible minority (LIIVM) backgrounds continue to be poorly represented at PSE levels. The current study aimed to understand the reasons for this poor representation by examining the experiences of LIIVM students enrolled in a postsecondary program. Findings show that the challenges they faced during the course of their study had an adverse impact on their health and that improving representation of these students in PSE will require changes at many levels.

The World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health has presented overwhelming evidence that health and quality of life are socially determined and that entrenched health inequities among people originate not so much from lack of hospital or community based services as from the failure of Governments to address the “social determinants of health” [1]. These refer to the economic and social conditions that shape the health of individuals, communities, and jurisdictions [2]. While health care services, food, housing and a social safety net are important social determinants of health, recent reports show that the level of educational attainment is a strong predictor of long term health and quality of life [3].

There are several interrelated pathways through which educational attainment is linked with health [4]. Higher educational attainment can lead to improved health as more educated individuals will most likely make better-informed, health related decisions for themselves and their families [5,6]. Higher educational attainment can also play an important role in health by shaping employment opportunities, which are the major determinants of economic resources. More educated individuals will experience lower rates of unemployment, which is strongly associated with worse health and higher mortality [7]. Higher educational attainment can also affect health by influencing social and psychological factors like greater perceived personal control [8], which has frequently been linked with better health and health-related behaviors [9,10], higher relative social standing and increased social support [11]. All these factors are associated with better physical and mental health [12].

In today’s highly globalized knowledge based society postsecondary education (PSE) is fast becoming a minimum requirement for securing employment that can afford young adults the economic, social and personal resources needed for better health and quality of life. Young adults who do not pursue postsecondary education are likely to experience a lower socio economic status (SES) than those who acquire further education and skills [13]. In 2005, 66.9% of Canadians with a PSE qualification reported being in excellent or very good health vs.42.9% of those without a high-school diploma. In 2006, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that the percentage of people claiming positive life satisfaction increased with educational attainment [3]. Advanced education is also associated with positive societal outcomes including higher productivity, innovation, economic growth and stronger communities [14].

Canada ranks high among OECD countries in terms of advanced education with 66% of Canadians aged 25 to 64 having completed some form of post-secondary education. However, youth from indigenous and low income backgrounds are under-represented at postsecondary levels [3]. Increasingly immigrants, especially from some “visible minority” backgrounds are joining the ranks of low income earners increasing their risk for poor health and quality of life. The Employment Equity Act defines “visible minorities” as “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in color.” According to this Act visible minorities include Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, West Asian, Japanese and Korean [15]. Low income among visible minority immigrants, reached decade-high levels in 2002 and 2003, about 3.5 times higher than the rate among the Canadian-born population, despite the fact that 52% of those in chronic low income were skilled economic immigrants, and 41 percent had university degrees [16].

Given the unequivocal benefits of PSE for health and well-being, and the number of students from low income backgrounds who are unable to access PSE, the experiences of those from these backgrounds who make it to postsecondary educational institutions becomes very important. The focus of this study is on the school experiences of students from low income indigenous and visible minority (LIIVM) backgrounds enrolled in a postsecondary educational setting in Western Canada and the influence of these on their health and well-being.