“An additional four years of education lowers five-year mortality by 1.8 percentage points; it also reduces the risk of heart disease by 2.16 percentage points: and the risk of diabetes by 1.3 percentage points.”
National Bureau of Economic Research
Education touches every aspect of human life and is intertwined in every direction of life such as career, income, health, economy, longevity, and curiosity of the unknown. According to Zimmerman et al. (2015), “at age 25, U.S. adults without a high school diploma can expect to die 9 years sooner than college graduates.” Some of us have heard about the importance of education and the positive impact on our daily life. This article is intended to make you pause to consider how much your education is a factor in your current health and life status?
Studies have shown that for every educational level a person gains, he or she attains a better health outcome (Cutler and Llersa-Muney, 2007; Zimmerman et al. 2015). Education is one of the driving forces for our health outcomes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (2016), in 2014, the high school dropout rate among Whites was 4.3 percent compared to 6.9 percent among African Americans.
Education has proven to be one of the contributors toward morbidity (disease) and mortality (death). For instance, a lower level of education increases the incidence of type 2 diabetes and the risk of heart disease (Cutler and Llersa-Muney, 2007). According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (2015), in 2013, the rates for new diagnoses of diabetes for individuals with less than a high school education was 12.2 per 100 people; the diagnoses rate among individuals with a high school education was 9.4 per 100 people, and 7.5 new diagnoses per 100 people with greater than high school education. Fortunately, the number of diagnoses in 2014 for those with greater than high school education decreased to 6.7 per 100 people; however, the rate of diagnoses among individuals with high school education increased to 9.5 per 100, and 12.9 per 100 among individuals with less than high school education. The CDC-1 (2015) continues to point out the rate of new diagnoses of diabetes gap between Blacks and Whites. Between 2009 – 2014, the average rate of new diagnoses of diabetes among Blacks was 9.3 per 100 people, while the rate among Whites was 5.9 per 100 people. ”
Education is the foundation of everything, it opens doors to things that were hidden before, it changes the way we perceive situations, but also helps us to address those situations effectively and methodically. Education is not simply a measurement of individuals passing grade level. We need to take it to heart and understand the power of education to create a greater society, which starts from each of us individually. Education is the greatest weapon you can have to move forward. According to the U.S Department of Education, a high school education is essential for the country’s economy to be strong. Graduating from high school is the first step to chart out the future of higher education, a career with a better pay (income), and a better life (2015). There is no question that some headway has been made, but we still have work to do to increase high school graduation rates among Black youth. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, for 2013-2014, the high school graduation rate in the U. S for Black students was 73% vs. 87% among whites. However, the graduation rate in Colorado among Blacks was 69% and 83% among whites (NCESE 2016).
Better Education = Healthier Lives. Why should you consider education as a key component to change life and health? Education is a tool to inform us of the unknown, gives us the opportunity to understand, and to make a sound decision. A well-informed person makes a better decision than someone who is not. Education increases the cognitive skills to search deeper, understand, and to be equipped better than before to make healthy choices. By product of education, humans tend to change risky and unhealthy behaviors for better. Education transforms the perspective of health. It empowers the person with an understanding of the importance of health, the benefit of health coverage, where and how to access health care, to seek preventive care, and more. Furthermore, to have an education means the potential for increased health literacy – the ability to follow doctor’s orders and medication prescriptions – to take accordingly without making an error. Education can help reduce the barriers of accessing the doctor’s office and communicating effectively to receive quality care and treatment (Zimmerman et al. 2015).
In conclusion, education has a strong correlation with health outcomes (Cutler and Llersa-Muney, 2007). Therefore, education should be valued as a means to open doors for greater opportunity; additionally, to equip us to be an advocate for others who are in need. Education empowers us to stand firmly with confidence to claim what is due us. Education changes the trajectory of our life in every direction, health, career, and life. We all have a duty to promote the importance of education, especially for the next generation of Black youth. A solider never goes to the battlefield without the proper armor to defend the cause, so is education for our youth. Education should be the main weapon to be utilized to overcome the challenges and barriers that are set before us to succeed and lead a healthy productive life as an individual and a good standing citizen.
By: Rahem Mulatu – Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC) Volunteer