Education: The Most Important Influence On Health

Today, in the contemporary United States, there are many different influencers to a person’s health, such as poverty and/or unemployment. However, education is the most important influence on health because without a good, thorough education, people are less likely to have access to health care, be able to afford health care and they are more likely to live shorter lives. A lack of education makes poverty and unemployment more likely, which obviously have a negative effect on a person’s health.

In the documentary The Waiting Room, directed by Peter Nicks, a story is told about Highland Hospital’s emergency waiting room and how there are too many patients for the staff to handle. The majority of these patients are poor, jobless and have little or no education, so they only come and wait in the emergency room because they cannot afford a regular doctor to go to when they are sick, need treatment or need a refill for a prescription. This shows just how much education does to create access to better health for people. The higher education a person has, the more likely they are to be employed and have adequate health insurance, for themselves and for their families. “Social class opens and closes doors to medical care. People

“Researchers have found a surprising effect of education: On average, the farther that people go in school, the longer they live. On average, compared with high school drop-outs, those who complete college live at least ten years longer (Kaplan et al. 2014). The most likely reasons for the longer life are that the more educated have healthier lifestyles (better diets, less smoking), better jobs, higher pay, and superior medical services” (Henslin, 2017, p. 505). This excerpt from Henslin’s textbook shows how crucial education can be to a person’s life: without it, they tend to be much unhealthier. This proves how important an influence education is on