The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #68275

Gayle Holmes Payne, MS, ORC Macro, Doctoral student, Georgia State University, 3 Corporate Square, # 370, Atlanta, GA 30329, 404-321-3211, Gayle-Marie.H.Payne@orcmacro.com and Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, MA, Educational Policy Studies, doctoral student, Georgia State University; ORC Macro, College of Education, 4th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303.

Education refers to the comprehensive formal instruction that occurs in any level of schooling from kindergarten through graduate studies, including social and behavioral processes that are combined with formal instruction in educational environments. Education works as a distributive function and is linked closely to social structure because it elevates one’s social position and health achievement. Education, income, and wealth measure what resources individuals possess. Individuals tend to live longer, healthier lives if they have attained a higher educational level in society. Educational disadvantages are directly correlated with health disparities. One disadvantage includes having a poorer education during adolescence. A lack of education promotes unhealthy social conditions. These conditions are translated into patterns in the level and distribution of health. Academic achievement is an explanatory variable, which determines population health and the potential for improving health. Research has found an association between educational attainment and a wide variety of illnesses, health problems, health behaviors and indices of overall health. Research on the mechanisms and pathways by which education influences health is sparse. This cross sectional study collects self-reported education, literacy knowledge, SES, and health behavior data from a sample of college students. The analysis regresses overall health, social-cultural information, and SES indicators, using logistic regression. The goal is to identify the causal pathways between education and health, including specific measures of abilities important to academic achievement, and new associations between formal education and important health behaviors.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to:
• 1.List indicators of health associated with academic achievement
• 2.Assess ways that education acts as a social determinant of health

Keywords: College Students,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.