Components of Health

There are many components to being healthy but several important ones are eating a good diet, having access to clean water, having and utilizing access to healthcare, and finally having the education to know about the first three.

Education, and income make up Socioeconomic status, but does one play a larger role in determining someone's health? Yes money can give you access to food, and healthcare, but it doesn't mean you know why the fast food you are eating 2 meals a day does not qualify as a "healthy diet". I agree with several of my classmates in that I believe education plays a huge role in good health. One needs not only to know what makes up a healthy diet or what qualifies as clean water, but also why these are important to their body to understand that in order to obtain good health they must have them.

They also need to know how to access healthcare, and their options about paying for the care. Having worked in a free clinic, which I would have never known existed if I had not been looking for volunteer opportunities, it was amazing how many of the patients that I spoke to never realized they had somewhere to go other than the ER. Yes, it can be hard to get an appointment, and yes sometimes the wait could be long, but the clinic is still available to anyone who walked in the door. We in the public health community have better knowledge about many of the free clinics that exist in LA because we are in the business of promoting and helping people access good health, but the majority of the people who actually need this care do not know. This is in the US, a developed nation, whose healthcare system while frustrating to many of us is still better than most. Think about lack of knowledge in a developing country.