You are cordially invited to attend Health Justice: Engaging Critical Perspectives in Health Law and Policy , a virtual conference, on October 2, 2020. In partnership with the Health Law and Policy Program at American University Washington College of Law and the Institute for Healing Justice and Equity at Saint Louis University, ChangeLab Solutions is convening advocates and stakeholders from the fields of public health, law, health care, and advocacy to share diverse perspectives; build...

To answer your first question, ELI5 is text lingo for 'explain like I'm five' - a way to break down often complex topics into digestible bits. This post will introduce the Social Determinants of Health and help to ELI5 the topic.

It makes me think about the health impact pyramid. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2836340/ We can spend countless hours and immense effort trying to coax people to change behavior when we might be able to make a greater impact through a focus on changing the context in which people live, learn, work, and play. Thanks for making this so simple to understand!

It also means being courageous in communities where we can push the envelope in presenting new ideas. And to recognize that our Extension work is a both / and rather than an either / or in terms of direct education and the public health approach of policy, systems, environments.

Thank you! What great sets of questions to assist in a deeper understanding.

Many years ago, I participated in a book study of A Framework for Understanding Poverty , by Dr. Ruby Payne. While her work has sometimes been criticized for being a framework using a white, middle-class lens of the issue, it garnered significant traction is raising awareness and providing for conversations about poverty across many sectors, professions, and communities. Your ELI5 article stirs up many of the same opportunities. It is hard for an individual to look at things from another...

Deep-rooted structural racism, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated inequities within our food system. Millions more people—mostly Black and Latino families—have gone hungry in the past year while high obesity rates put many at risk for severe COVID-19 complications. Grocery store clerks, meat packing plant staff, and farm workers making low wages have struggled financially while risking their health to feed our country. We need a more sustainable and resilient food...