Using the Tools of Democracy for Better Health

There’s a growing body of evidence that shows that people living in areas with structural barriers, such as laws that restrict voter eligibility, registration and opportunities to participate, have lower voter turnout and shorter life expectancy. In our second episode, hosts Beth Silver Ericka Burroughs-Girardi are joined by Daniel Dawes, executive director of the Institute of Global Health Equity at Meharry Medical College, and the founder of the political determinants of health framework. Dawes discusses how the political determinants have shaped communities’ abilities to define and address public problems. Dr. Peniel Joseph, an author, professor and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at The University of Texas at Austin, also joins the conversation to provide examples of how tools of democracy — historical and present — have shaped where we are today.