The political determinants of health: How policy choices impact our well-being

It’s long been clear that societal forces affect health, from neighborhood demographics to school quality to the selection of products on sale in our corner stores. But what’s behind those forces? In this fireside chat, Daniel Dawes, a renowned scholar and attorney, unpacked the political determinants of health, exploring how relationships, resources, policies, and power structures exert enormous influence on our environments — and, in turn, on our well-being. He discussed how the political determinants of health have exacerbated inequities in the U.S. and shared ideas for more equitable policymaking and a healthier country. Dawes also discussed his work in launching the nation’s first school of global public health at a historically Black college or university, which grew out of the Global Health Institute at Meharry Medical College. (author introduction)