As a physician, I was trained in medical school to believe that diseases are prevented and cured by doctors and hospitals. That was many years ago, and we now know better. We now know that our health is shaped primarily by the conditions in which we live our daily lives—our homes, our work, our schools, our neighborhoods. The diseases that claim the lives of Americans and threaten our children depend greatly on how we live, where we live, and the resources we possess—from education to income to strong communities—to sustain our wellbeing. These factors are important to health, but too often they are overlooked as strategies for confronting diseases and controlling the costs of health care. Our Center’s research and policy work is aimed at helping Americans to “connect the dots” and to inspire action to improve the health of all Americans by addressing social conditions outside the walls of the clinic and hospital.
