Today on the Inland Journal podcast, researchers around the country are finding there are often links between socio-economic status and health. Families with more means are more able to afford better quality food, for example, and to have better recreational opportunities. Families with fewer means often live in areas where they don’t have access to fresh, high quality food. Often, their diets are, by economic necessity, higher in carbohydrates, fats and calories.
WSU researchers recently released a study that reinforces some of those points. They collected basic demographic data about children in the Spokane School District, heights and weights and the percentages of children in each school who qualify for free and reduced price lunches. And they made some extrapolations based on their analysis. Their study (which includes WSU colleagues Ofer Amram, Solmaz Amiri and Anna Crowley and Spokane Regional Health District health officer Bob Lutz) was published recently in the Journal of Community Health.
Thursday on Inland Journal, we look at the vocation of physician assistants. The University of Washington has trained PAs for 50 years; it held its latest graduation ceremony for its Spokane students last week. We’ll talk with the program head in Spokane and one of the graduating students.
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