Why is education important to health?
There is much evidence linking educational attainment and high school graduation rates to improved health outcomes. As reported in Our Community Vital Signs 2013 Final Report, people with more education have lower rates of the most common acute and chronic diseases. High school graduates earn higher salaries, have better self-esteem, more personal life satisfaction, fewer health problems, and less involvement in criminal activity as compared to high school dropouts. Similarly, education has been strongly linked to health outcomes. The Robert Wood Johnson Report Foundation reports, “people with more education are likely to live longer, to experience better health outcomes, and to practice health-promoting behaviors such as exercising regularly, refraining from smoking, and obtaining timely health care check-ups and screenings".