The Price and Place of Health

Ozempic, a GLP-1 drug, is everywhere. In 2023, Science magazine declared GLP-1s to be the breakthrough of the year. Patients and healthcare providers call it a miracle drug. People are most excited about the clinical effects of GLP-1s, especially the amount of body weight loss it facilitates. But GLP-1s have social effects, too - on how we think about body ideals, health, and healthcare. In this talk, I will take you with me on a journey to explore the social benefits and costs of GLP-1s, going beyond the walls of the clinic to where GLP-1s are advertised, sold, and dispensed.

It has become a cliche to say that “place matters,” but why? And how? In this session, partly based on my own research, we will explore how exactly the location where one lives can have a large effect on health and healthcare outcomes. New Haven, CT is a perfect example of how and why place matters in terms of health, and it will be the focus of the talk. But the lessons of New Haven apply to the rest of our country, and we will also discuss strategies for decreasing place-based disparities as well as how individuals can contribute.