Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick, is a pioneering 4-hour PBS documentary series with an ambitious outreach and public health impact campaign to help reframe the nation’s debate over health and what we as a society can—and should—do to reduce our socio-economic and racial health disparities. The centerpiece of the series is an hour-long opening episode that sets up the overarching themes of the series: health and longevity are correlated with socioeconomic status, and people of color face an additional burden; and solutions lie not in more pills or better genes, but in better social policies.
Experts of all political stripes agree: our medical system is strained to the breaking point. We spend almost twice as much per person on health care as any other country. One out of every three Americans is obese, and illnesses cost American businesses $260 billion per year in lost productivity. Why are we so unhealthy?
Improving quality and access to health care are important, but what matters most are the social conditions that make us sick in the first place. Believe it or not, things we don't usually associate with health - for example, good jobs, affordable housing, a clean environment, guaranteed sick leave, and a good education - matter more for health than efforts to get people to eat right, exercise more, and stop smoking
Unnatural Causes aims to reframe the debate over health by stimulating a national dialogue about what we as a society can - and should - do to tackle our health inequities and create more equitable, healthier conditions for everyone. The goals of this Public Impact Campaign are challenging but straightforward:
The main hour is supported by 6 additional half-hour stories set in different racial and ethnic communities. Each deepens the understanding of the root causes of disease, illuminates pathways by which social conditions affect physiology, and brings viewers face to face with innovative initiatives for health equity. The series is scheduled for broadcast in Spring 2008.
Why do some of us get sicker and die sooner?
Our street address can be a powerful predictor of our health.
On average, poor immigrants of color actually arrive in the U.S. healthier than the average American.
The babies of African American women with professional degrees face as much risk as being born early and low-birth weight than white high school drop-outs.
Diabetes is a growing American epidemic and Native Americans were the first to suffer its profound effects.
Unemployment and job insecurity isn’t just bad for your pocketbook – it’s bad for your health.
Pacific Islanders, even native Hawaiians, have poor health outcomes.
For more information about the series and the public health impact campaign visit www.unnaturalcauses.org.