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? Daniel Dawes, a renowned scholar and attorney, will unpack 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. In this fireside chat, he’ll discuss how the political determinants of health have exacerbated inequities in the U.S. and share ideas for more equitable policymaking and a healthier country. Dawes will also discuss 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. 

Register for free to submit your questions.   

An on-demand video will be posted after the event. 

SPEAKER

Daniel Dawes, Senior Vice President, Global Health, and Founding Dean and Professor, School of Global Health, Meharry Medical College 

MODERATOR

David Williams, Chair, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health