There are numerous social and structural vectors for disease that are not often discussed in medical school. So, Dr. David Ansell says he had a lot to learn once he became a physician.

Ansell, author of “The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills,” writes about the stark disparities in access to treatment and outcomes for patients in the U.S. healthcare system.

“We always talk about inequities. We have frank inequities, but we have gross inequalities,” Ansell says. “The care isn't equal… And if we could get to equal, then we can take on the inequity.”

One of the most glaring examples is life expectancy; a person’s zip code can be a strong predictor for their life expectancy due to social and structural determinants of health, including structural racism and economic deprivation, he says.

“If you live in The Loop in Chicago, you can live to be 85 and if it were a country, it'd be ranked first in the world,” Ansell says. “But if you live in Garfield Park, three stops down the Blue Line from Rush, life expectancy post-Covid is 66.”

In this conversation, which was first published in 2023 for the Health Disparities podcast, Dr. Ansell speaks with Movement Is Life’s Dr. Carla Harwell about the importance of addressing systemic racism and inequality in the healthcare system.

Never miss an episode – be sure to subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Food insecurity is a systemic public health issue that needs to be addressed because reliable access to healthy food is critical to positive health outcomes.

Health care partnerships are forming to improve access to healthy foods in some states, including Massachusetts, which is at the forefront of addressing food insecurity with programs that allow Medicaid funding to be used to address social determinants of health.

“I would push back on the idea that things like food and housing are not actually medical,” says Jennifer Obadia, senior director of health care partnerships at Project Bread, a nonprofit focused on creating a sustainable, system-wide safety net in Massachusetts for anyone facing hunger.

“Now, I understand they're not pharmaceutical,” she adds. “But we know that 80% of a person's health is determined by social and environmental factors.”

In this week’s episode, Jennifer Obadia speaks with Movement Is Life’s Sonia Cervantes about food insecurity, Project Bread’s mission, lessons learned over the years and shares a call to action for listeners.

Project Bread's FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333) is the food assistance line for all of Massachusetts, whether you need help paying for food and don't know where to start or you're simply curious about ways to boost your food budget or save on groceries.

Never miss an episode – be sure to subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Conversation is an important part of bringing an end to racism so that everyone thrives in our society. It’s something that the leaders of 904Ward care deeply about.

The 904Ward organization evolved the Jacksonville 904 dialing area code into a nonprofit whose mission is to create racial healing and equity through deep conversations and learning, trusting relationships, and collective action.

Dr. Kimberly Allen served as the inaugural CEO of 904WARD from 2020 to 2025.

“I think we all make judgments all the time because that's just the nature of our brains and how it works, but what I would encourage us to do is to call those judgments out and, I say, ‘Say the quiet part out loud.’ Call those judgments out so that you can start to work through where they come from,” Dr. Allen says.

In this conversation, which was first recorded in 2022 for the Health Disparities podcast, Dr. Allen is joined by 904 resident Sharon LaSure-Roy. They spoke with Movement Is Life’s Sarah Hohman.

Never miss an episode – be sure to subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.