New Books Network The Collective Cure: Upstream Solutions for Better Public Health
Mar 19, 2026
Dr. Monica L. Wang, an award-winning public health researcher and professor, brings personal history and research to the conversation. She explores how income, race, neighborhood conditions, and caregiving shape health. Stories of community healing, grassroots vaccine advocacy, and Indigenous practices illustrate upstream solutions. The focus is on practical, collective actions to build healthier communities.
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METCO Revealed How Place Shapes Health
- Monica Wang's METCO experience showed how two neighborhoods 10 miles apart produced very different health realities.
- She lived in Boston with poor food access and pollution but commuted to Belmont with sidewalks, sports, and healthier peers, which shaped her view of place-based health.
Expose Clinicians To Upstream Causes Of Illness
- Teach and advocate for social determinants in clinical and management settings to shift focus from individual behavior to upstream causes.
- Monica converted skeptical mid-career physicians by showing evidence that ~80% of what shapes health lies outside healthcare.
Social Versus Structural Determinants Defined
- Social determinants are individual-level factors like income, education, race, job stress, and neighborhood conditions.
- Structural determinants are larger forces shaping social determinants, e.g., minimum living wage and systemic racism affecting housing, education, and healthcare.
