Most of us know that education is correlated with higher incomes, increased social mobility, and expanded employment options. These are all important benefits—both to individuals (who experience greater control over their lives and increased stability) and to society at large (which is more productive and competitive when it has a well-educated workforce).
But there are many other benefits of education, as well, ones which are at least as important as the economic advantages. One of these is that education is what is known as a social determinant of health—it’s one key non-medical factor in people’s health and well-being. (Canada is one of the countries spearheading research into the social determinants of health.) 
So, for instance, Health Canada tells us that: “Researchers have known for a long time, by studying the relationships between variables, that social factors and health are correlated. It is not news, for instance, that people with high income and education levels tend to be healthier and live longer than people who fall lower on the socioeconomic scale” (emphasis added). Moreover, this effect is non-trivial. According to research presented to the Canadian parliament, “Research has estimated that 15% of the population’s health is attributable to biology and genetic factors, 10% to the physical environment, 25% to the reparative work of the health care system, while, fully 50% is attributable to the social and economic environment” (see chart).
How does education affect health?
The Public Health Agency of Canada has found that:
Education is closely tied to socioeconomic status, and effective education for children and lifelong learning for adults are key contributors to health and prosperity for individuals, and for the country. Education contributes to health and prosperity by equipping people with knowledge and skills for problem solving, and helps provide a sense of control and mastery over life circumstances. It increases opportunities for job and income security, and job satisfaction. And it improves people’s ability to access and understand information to help keep them healthy.
Simply put: programs like CPSAP, which increase access to post-secondary education for under-represented groups, don’t just improve those groups’ economic standing, they improve their overall health and well-being.
Education, we are often told, is a great equalizer. And it is—perhaps even more so than we had previously realized.
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