Guy sits down with Karley Abramson, research associate for health policy, to talk about the seriously high level of poor health among Michiganders, a level showing increasing signs of further deterioration.

Citizens Research Council just released exhaustive research, authored by Abramson, that drills down to root causes of why Michiganders suffer from worse health outcomes than residents in similar, neighboring states and even across the U.S. The paper, Social Determinants of Health: Pathways to a Healthier Michigan, clearly translates what Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) mean for Michiganders and how they directly affect the state’s economy and our collective ability to prosper.

Interconnectedness – All Policy is Health Policy

This report unpacks SDOH by focusing on the evidence-based fundamental resources that are necessary for individual health: Financial Resources; Health Care; Food and Nutrition; Safety; and Social Support.

Abramson explains that all the evidence and data point to two broad themes: the interconnectedness of the social determinants of health and the centrality of financial resources in the story of Michigan residents’ lagging health outcomes.

“In every area of public policy, there is a nexus to health and well-being,” the report notes. “The centrality of financial resources – education, employment, and income – is the story of Michigan’s lagging health outcomes.”