Explaining the Effect of Education on Health

Abstract

Higher education (or more years of formal schooling) is widely associated with better health, but the underlying causes of this association are unclear. In this study, we tested our schooling-decision-making model, which posits that formal education fosters intellectual ability, which in turn provides individuals with enduring competencies to support better health-related behaviors. Using data from a field study on formal education in 181 adults in rural Ghana, we examined health-protective behaviors related to HIV/AIDS infection, a critical health issue in Ghana. As expected, individuals with more education practiced more protective health behaviors. Our structural equation modeling analysis showed that cognitive abilities, numeracy, and decision-making abilities increased with exposure to schooling, and that these enhanced abilities (and not HIV/AIDS knowledge) mediated the effects of education on health-protective behavior. Research and policy implications for HIV prevention efforts in sub-Saharan Africa are discussed.

Renal Function in Ghanaian HIV-Infected Patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy: A Case-Control Study

“…This is in line with reports that education results in the more educated less likely to be infected, a negative linear relationship between years of education and HIV [16], [17]. It is noteworthy that although the proportion of illiteracy was low in the present study, the level of attainment and years of study was also low.…”

The cognitive impact of the education revolution: A possible cause of the Flynn Effect on population IQ

“…But in this case, since all Study-2 participants reported starting and stopping their schooling because of the vicissitudes of subsistence-level farming, finances, access, or gender preferences instead of pre-school cognitive endowments, there is no evidence that variation in attendance and duration was confounded by a cognitiveselection effect or an unmeasured cognitive factor. And these findings are similar to those reported by Peters et al (2010) in a similar study. In addition, Richards, Power, and Sacker (2009) conclude from a series of analyses of British adults that education is likely a causal influence on later-life cognition even after conditioning on social class of origin, childhood intelligence, and subsequent occupational attainment.…”

“…If CEFs are profoundly shaped and enhanced by education, these skills may be a plausible mediator of the widely reported associations between education and individuals' health, fertility, and longevity. It also opens a distinctly cognitive perspective on education's observed association with demographic processes and health outcomes at both the individual and population levels (e.g., Baker et al, 2011;Dieckmann et al, in press;Lutz & Samir, 2011;Peters et al, 2010;Rindermann & Gerhard, 2009).…”

Understanding HIV/AIDS and STIs as Related to Sexually Risky Behaviour by Higher Education Institutions Students: A Literature Review

“…Education teaches people to think for themselves, giving them greater power to make decisions concerning their lifestyle and health (Peters, Baker, Dieckmann, Leon, & Collins, 2010). It is also possible that more years of education is associated with a greater understanding of HIV, and the need to protect oneself actively against it.…”