Priority Area: Economy Why is economy important to health?
Economic factors including poverty, employment opportunities and access to affordable housing have been shown to influence access to health care and health outcomes. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), loss of jobs (as during a recession) is clearly associated with reductions in health coverage. Lack of health coverage affects residents’ ability to access preventive health care and other health services. In addition, it has been shown that stable, affordable housing may improve health outcomes by freeing up family resources for healthy food and health care expenses, decreasing stress, providing access to healthy options for families in neighborhoods, and reducing environmental exposures from unstable and unsafe housing options.
