What if the most powerful prescription for your health isn’t a pill—but a policy? In this week’s Prescribing Healthier Futures, Dr. Akilah Weber Pearson is joined by physician and health-equity leader Dr. Rodney Hood to demystify the social determinants of health—the everyday conditions that shape 80–90% of outcomes. Together, they map the real-world links between food access, transportation, housing stability, education funding, and the physiology of stress—and why a zip code can predict more than a genetic code.

The episode moves beyond diagnosis to solutions that work. You’ll hear how community health workers close trust and logistics gaps, how “last-mile” transit turns missed appointments into managed care, and why Housing First models save lives and dollars. The conversation also tackles redlining’s long shadow and the measurable burden of chronic stress and racism—from higher hypertension to maternal mortality—reminding us that ignoring history is a public health risk.

The takeaway is simple and urgent: health is made where we live, learn, work, and play. Every zoning rule, bus route, school budget, and park grant is a health decision. If we invest in communities upstream, we won’t just spend less—we’ll live longer. That’s a prescription California can fill.

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