
You think it’s only medical care that influences your health? The real truth is all around you.
From her office in the peaceful and picturesque Laurel Heights neighborhood, Paula Braveman directs the Center on Social Disparities in Health at the University of California (San Francisco) and writes prolifically on the links between class, race, and health. She spoke recently to National Journal about the complex relationships among opportunity, biology, personal responsibility, and the way Americans live and die. Edited excerpts follow.
A lot of people are not familiar with the phrase “social determinants of health.” What do you mean by that?
We mean the factors apart from medical care that have a powerful influence on health.

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